Mahou Senki: Limitless Blades
by Shiratori Ryuga
Summary: The path set forth by fate had been shifted. How much change will occurred with a simple meeting between a certain red-clad sword-wielding archer and a white-clad spell-slinging magical girl during their early childhood?
1. Chapter 1

After a few months of deep depression, suicidal thoughts, nearly carrying out with my plans to kill myself, my muse is back! ...or is that just the little voice in my head that used to say I'm crazy...

Well, whatever. After my muse suffering a horrible burning death with my FSN/Campione! fic due to real life angst, I'm finally back with a new story.

SPOILER!

Well, I don't think it is a spoiler per se... This story will most likely lean slightly Nanoha's story style: i.e. the 'Blowing up people is the best way to friendship' plot style. If anyone thinks Shirou might be too powerful in this story, do keep in mind that what he will face simply by being in contact with Nanoha. Hell, the only people in Type-Moon verse I can think of at the moment with Nanoha's firepower are some servants, possibly a few Dead Apostle Ancestors, and possibly Aozaki Aoko (Whom I have plans in the future for).

Barrier Jackets wise, I will be using their movie counterparts since I like those designs more.

For those of you can't tell, this chapter already has some foreshadowing on what the heroic idiot will be delving into earlier than expected.

SPOILER END!

I will try and go for a weekly update but that might be pushing my capabilities at this moment. Constructive criticisms are welcomed and all flames will be reduced to raw mana for charging up Nanoha's Starlight Breaker.

Without further ado, Let the story begin!

* * *

**Disclaimer: This story is inspired by Mahou Senki: Lyrical Days by Hero Slayer and in honor of the upcoming ********Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA ILLYA**. Fate/stay night belongs to a certain Eggplant **Mushroom**** (Nasu ****Kinoko****) and Nanoha belongs to Tsuzuki Masaki**

* * *

We've all heard of the story before; how a redheaded boy was born in the city of Fuyuki, died by the flames of a cursed Holy Grail, and was reborn as a distorted individual seeking to be a hero.

However, a simple shift in decision may set this pitiful human being down the path he sought after instead of the tragedy that awaits him at the end of his life. Instead of staying in the accursed city that had claimed his wife, the man who had shown the young lad a whole new world chose to leave behind Fuyuki City along with the child, hoping he never has to return to.

And thus, the broken man and his newly adopted son started their new life in a new city.

The boy still seeks to save the people around him, trying to emulate the man who pulled him out of the fire.

The father still takes constant leaves for his endeavor to reclaim his daughter, hoping to take her away from a certain snow-covered castle.

Years gone by and the difference between the two paths laid down by Fate become more and more pronounced. With the unexpected meeting between the incarnation of swords in red and the lonely devil in white during their preadolescent years, a new tale begins.

Mahou Senki Limitless Blades will now begin.

* * *

_It truly was hell on earth. There was no other way to describe the horrid scene before me as I traversed the burning wasteland that was once my home town._

_Surrounded by the agonizing groans of the dying._

_Charred limbs sticking out of the burning and collapsed houses._

_Burned up corpses littered the once busy street that I could barely remember anymore._

_As despairing as the sight before me is, I continued on. Deep in my mind I knew it was pointless, to cling onto life in this inferno as my mind slow crumbling and my body weakening by the second. I don't even remember who I was anymore._

_All I was doing was prolonging my suffering._

_Yet my body continued to strive forth._

_Never stopping; never looking back._

_There was no salvation in this hellhole, yet my tiring body pushed on._

_I had lost track of how long I've been walking before I finally collapsed from the sheer burden placed upon my fragile body, but the sight that met me when my mind regained some cognizant was forever burned into my memory. The face of a raggedy old man, looking down at me with tears in his eyes, repeating 'thank goodness' over and over again; it was as if he had found salvation in this hellish setting, as if he had found… happiness._

_At that time, I couldn't help but think, 'Ahh, I wish I could be as happy as him…'_

* * *

'It's that dream again…' Emiya Shirou thought as he drowsily opened his eyes. 'I haven't had that dream in years…'

"Emiya! Watch out!" a sudden shout woke the redheaded boy fully from his slumber… right before a soccer ball plowed into his face. The force was enough to knock him back into unconsciousness.

Out in the field, a certain pigtailed brunette winced and quickly rushed over to the boy. "Shirou-kun! I'm sorry! Are you alright!" she shouted, waving her arms around frantically.

* * *

"Ite," Shirou clicked his tongue in pain as he lightly poked at his slightly swollen left cheek. It had been quite humorous for two of the three girls currently next to him while the last one was still blushing from embarrassment at what she had accidentally done to the redheaded boy. The quartet was currently walking to their destination after school; the three girls to cram school and Shirou escorting them before heading to the Takamachi's dojo for his kendo lessons.

With a sigh, he turned his attention to the giggling girl. "Alisa-san, could you please stop laughing?"

Alisa Bannings, the person Shirou had mentioned, continued snickering in amusement. "You got to admit, it was funny, especially how much Nanoha fretted over you afterwards. How did you even fall asleep during gym in the first place?"

"I just had a long night," Shirou sighed as he tried to scratch his nose bashfully, only to cling at the stinging sensation. That comment caused Nanoha to shoot him a glare.

"Staying up late again, Shirou-kun?"

The redheaded boy froze when he heard the usually cheerful girl's tone. "Ano… Ji-san is gone on one of his trips again so I had to keep the place cleaned?"

Alisa palmed her face when she heard Shirou's questionable reply. "You're a really bad liar, Shirou."

Trying to diffuse the tension he was receiving from Nanoha, Shirou quickly shifted topic. "So what do you girls think of class today?" he quickly asked.

Fortunately, Nanoha decided to ease up her glare at him. "About our future jobs huh?" the pigtailed girl mused with a melancholic look. "Alisa-chan and Suzuka-chan had already decided on them right?"

Alisa nodded at her. "My mom and dad are both company managers, so I will need to work hard to succeed them. Well, that's my plan anyway."

"And since I like machines, I think I would try and become an engineer," answered Suzuka.

"What about you, Shirou-kun?" The attention of all three girls suddenly turned to the lone boy in their group.

"Well, I want to become a Hero of Justice and save people," Shirou proclaimed with a smile, causing Alisa to slap the back of his head and Suzuka to sigh.

"An Ally of Justice is not a profession! You should be more serious about your future career!"

"But I am serious!" Shirou retorted, but was promptly ignored by the most outspoken girl of the group.

"How 'bout you, Nanoha? Are you going to take over Midori-ya?" Alisa asked, disregarding the currently pouting Shirou.

"That is one path I could take, but I feel like there is something else out there that might suit me better." A sad sigh escaped her lips. "I don't have any special skills or any strong points…"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" This time, it was Nanoha who received a slap to the back of her head courtesy of Alisa. "You are the last person I want to hear that from!"

"Yea," Shirou agreed immediately. "You have the highest grade amongst us, decent at most sports we played during gym and you're quite good at figuring how things work; especially compared to the rest of your family, 'Digital Girl'," the boy choked out a laugh at the end, causing Nanoha to pout and mumbled 'that was a long time ago'.

"That's right. You shouldn't look down on yourself like that," Suzuka chided softly. "I'm sure there is something only you can do." She then turned to the nodding redhead, "And you really should be more serious about your future career, Shirou-kun."

"I'm serious! There are plenty of heroes in the world!" Shirou countered. After all, he was sharing a house with someone he considered a real-life hero.

"Argh, I give up!" Alisa cried out, throwing up her arms up in frustration. Trying to argue with someone as bullheaded as Shirou was simply a waste of time, especially when it comes to his misguided resolves.

Walking down their usual path, Alisa suddenly made a detour into a wooded path. "This is a shortcut I found earlier. We should be able to get to the cram school faster and away from Hero-san's stupidity," the multimillionaire heiress stated, prompted an indignant 'Oi' from the lone boy of the group.

Shirou would've protested in the selected route due to the thick foliage but he decided against it. Besides, he had seen a few people walking out of the path already so it shouldn't have been dangerous. And if there were some animals like a wild dog or something, then he could handle it.

His thoughts came to a halt when he realized one of the girls started lagging behind the group.

Apparently, Nanoha had stopped in the middle of the path. Her eyes were staring off into the distance as if she had noticed something no one else did. "Did you hear that?" the girl suddenly asked, tilting her head at the rest of the group.

"Hear what?" Shirou asked as he turned his head left and right, trying to locate what Nanoha might've heard. However, Nanoha had already taken off into the wood before Shirou could hear anything out of the ordinary. "Oi! Nanoha!"

Giving a silent thanks to all the inhumane physical conditioning at the Takamichi's dojo, Shirou was able to catch up with Nanoha in a heartbeat. "So, mind telling me what got you so caught up that you would suddenly try to leave the rest of us behind?" he asked, sparing a quick glance back at the two other girls trying to keep up with their pace. While Alisa and Suzuka usually have no such problem, they were a lot more mindful about their uniform's cleanliness than the pigtailed brunette. Alisa usually blames that part of her consciousness on her parents.

"I think I heard someone calling out for help" Nanoha answered without sparing a glance at Shirou. "It came from over there!"

Shirou turned his attention to where Nanoha pointed out and saw a clearing coming up. Without a thought, he sped up passed her and leaped onto the open area, looking around for any signs of distress. He silently cursed his current lack of weapon since he usually left his kendo equipment at the dojo Nanoha's family owned.

Luckily for him, the clearing was completely devoid of anyone, which made him tilt his head slightly in confusion. "Are you sure there's someone here, Nanoha?" He was slightly disappointed that there was no one needing help but quickly shook himself off that thought. He shouldn't be hoping for someone to be hurt in the first place.

Taking another quick glance around, he finally noticed something yellow and furry lying on the ground. Bending down to take a closer look at it, he finally identified it as a ferret. Its fur was dirtied and he could see some dried on blood, but there was no open wound on the creature. There was also a ruby sphere attached to a piece of string around its neck. The small animal's ears twitched upon hearing someone near it and looked up at the boy weakly before lying its head back down on the ground.

Seeing as it isn't going to be getting up any time soon, Shirou decided to take off his jacket and wrap the injured-looking critter up. For a second, a seemingly childish thought went through him. Maybe the tiny animal was magical? He had heard from Kiritsugu about familiar and it wasn't uncommon for them to take the form of a random critter.

"Mou. Nanoha, Shirou, couldn't the two of you slow down?"

The sound of the girls approaching shook him out of his musing as he turned to their direction. Apparently, Nanoha had caught her sleeve on a branch and had slowed down enough for Alisa and Suzuka to catch up to her.

"Well, I didn't see anyone here other than an injured ferret," Shirou stated as he bought up the critter, causing the girls to start cooing at it.

"Ahh, it's hurt! We need to take it to a hospital!" Alisa cried out frantically.

"Not a hospital, we need to take it to a veterinarian," Suzuka corrected.

"I think there's a vet somewhere around here!" Nanoha supplied. "I think it's that way!"

The quartet decided to take a quick detour from their destination in favor of getting treatment for a random critter they had found.

* * *

When Shirou first started learning the basics of Thaumaturgy, or Magecraft as most people called it, Kiritsugu had told him to maintain a strong mind and body.

He had been confused at first when the rugged man had set up an exercise routine for him since the way he pictured magic had always been how most kids had imagined it to be; pulling things out of thin air, making things disappear with nothing but a wave of a hand, or even shooting beams of multicolored lights at their opponents. His questions were put to rest when Kiritsugu had explained a small part about his family's special brand of Magecraft and how he had utilized it. While the man never did give Shirou a demonstration on his Innate Time Control, the boy had taken his teachings to heart.

As time passed, their usual exercises slowly turned into sparring matches between Kiritsugu using unarmed martial arts and Shirou swinging a bokken around. When Kiritsugu had left on one of his trips to parts unknown, Shirou had been left to train aimlessly using what he had learned.

Joining a kendo dojo had never really crossed Shirou's mind until he had met the Takamachi family one day when he was practicing his sword swings in a park on a weekend. Nanoha had apparently noticed him working on his usual routine in a nearby park one day and decided to drag him to her older brother, Kyōya. Apparently Kyouya had taken an interest in the boy after hearing his style had been self-taught.

On that day, Shirou experienced his first blessing in disguise.

Almost every day after school, he would come to practice at the Takamichi's dojo, working on both single and double-handed swings. After that would be a quick sparring match between him and Kyōya, if one could call a one-sided trouncing sparring. Even after two full years of learning under the currently 19-year-old teen, Shirou had yet to land a hit on him.

At least his stamina and pain tolerant had increased by a large margin.

Shirou sighed as he continued doing overhead swings with his suburitō. He had always found the repetitive exercise boring. However, practice was different from usual this time. While swinging his sword, Shirou's mind was wandering elsewhere, specifically the ferret he had found earlier.

When the quartet was at the clinic getting treatment for the fuzz ball, it had woken up when the veterinarian had tried to touch the red gem around its neck before it shrunk back defensively. The critter had then proceeded to scan the occupants in the room before setting its eyes on Nanoha. It had even given her a tentative lick on the finger when she had presented the outstretched digit to the critter before it went back to sleep, coiling its body around the gem in its possession.

"That's enough, Shirou," the slightly concerned voice of his instructor, Takamachi Kyōya, pulled him from his thoughts. "What's troubling you today?"

Turning his head to meet the older male, Shirou gave him a shrug. "Just thinking about an injured ferret the girls and I found in the park earlier. I was just wondering what we should do with it if it doesn't have an owner." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth.

Luckily for the redheaded boy, Kyōya seemed to have accepted his answer. Giving him a smile, the older male grabbed a pair of bokken and threw one at Shirou. "Well, that's fine and all, but we are going to be moving onto the sparring portion of our lesson, so you should clear your mind of any distracting thoughts for now. Otherwise, you might just get a few more bruises than usual."

While Ky**ō**ya had put on a disarming smile, it had caused Shirou to sweating profusely. It was the same smile the older male had on right before he had given Shirou his first taste of the Fuwa clan's kenjutsu.

Seeing the panicked look Shirou had on his face, Kyōya couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. The young boy Nanoha had dragged before him two years ago had improved greatly in his kenjutsu. Sure, there were still room for a lot of improvements, but the boy's determination to get stronger had driven him very far in his self-appointed quest.

"Here I come!" Kyōya suddenly stated before he charged forth with his bokken, prompting Shirou to do the same.

And thus, another day of training ended with Nanoha finding a huge lump of bruise on her family's dojo floor named Emiya Shirou when she got back from cram school.

* * *

After the redhead had arrived home and had the relaxing task of trying a new recipe for dinner, Shirou made his way up to his room.

The day had been rather stressful for him since finding the ferret. It had been occupying his mind for a large portion of his time after school. He had wished Kiritsugu was home so he could discuss his thoughts, but he was going to push them away for the time being.

Entering his room, which only consists of a bed, a desk in front of a window, a bookshelf off to the side and a closet across from the bed, he quickly took out his bokken before taking a seat on his bed.

Taking a quick breath, the redhead began his daily Magecraft practice. At his current level, Shirou couldn't afford to have any distractions. One mistake could kill him or leave him in a state worse than death.

However, the boy wasn't deterred. To learn Magecraft is to walk with death; that had been what Kiritsugu told him when he first started his lessons. The fact that he had nearly fried his mind at least three times in the past merely solidified the truth to that statement.

Taking a few deep breaths, Shirou slowly focused on the wooden sword in front of him. The process of making a magical circuit from his nerve had always been painful, but he had continued to endure the agony.

With the Magic Circuit in place and the more dangerous part of the exercise over, it was time to start executing his Magecraft.

Trace on

Giving the wooden sword a quick scan with Structural Grasp Projection, Shirou started to push his Od into it. With one last deep breath, he finished filling up strengthening the item in his hand…

*Snap*

The sound pulled Shirou out of his trance as he looked down at the bokken in his hand. Apparently, a small portion of its hilt had exploded into splinters. While it was far from perfect, the redheaded boy couldn't help but grin. Seeing as how he had turned a metal pipe into a twisted mess that had nearly caused him a few fingers, and it happened only a day ago, this had been his best attempt at Reinforcement thus far.

It was the first time he had tried using Reinforcement on his bokken seeing as he had apparently ran out of metal pipes a day ago and hadn't had the chance to restock. Just as he was about to cut the flow of Od into the practice sword, he was suddenly assaulted by a voice echoing in his head.

'_Ca…me…her…'_

"What…"

'…_le…so…strength…too late!'_

Slightly shaken from the weird voice, Shirou tried clearing his head. He wondered if this was some form of mental attack by some magus, but before he could entertain that idea further, a loud cry of _'Help me!' _slammed into his head.

Without thinking, Shirou had leaped off his bed with the reinforced bokken in hand before rushing out of the house, before doubling back to change his indoor slippers for his outdoor shoes.

As the boy rushed down the street, following the echoing voice in his mind, he nearly crashed into Nanoha. After gaining back his balance at the near collision, he quickly directed his attention toward the girl. "Nanoha, what are you doing out this late?"

"Shirou-kun?" the pigtailed girl asked in surprise. "I think the ferret we took to the vet is calling out for help!"

The redheaded boy merely nodded at the girl. That had explained why he had been tense when they had found the critter. He cursed himself for not realizing the magical nature of the animal but refrained from thinking such thoughts for the time being.

Shirou replied with a nod. "We should hurry up. There's no telling what sort of trouble it is facing."

* * *

Reaching the vet they had dropped the ferret off earlier in the day, Shirou couldn't help but stare at the scene in front of him. "Uhh… Is it just me or do you also see the ferret being attacked by a giant shifting ball of magical furry-blob-thing?"

Nanoha could do nothing but nod dumbly.

When the duo arrived, the entire front of the clinic had already collapsed and some weird blob was chasing the ferret in a deadly game of tag. There was also the fact that the entire area seemed to be devoid of any life other than the two humans and two creatures present. There was also the weird red tint to the entire landscape as if they had just stepped into another world.

When the ferret saw the duo, it quickly leaped onto Nanoha, forgetting for a second that the blob creature was still hot on its tail.

Seeing the creature charging at them, Shirou quickly spun into action. Lashing out a hand, he quickly pushed Nanoha and the ferret off to the side while meeting the charging monster. Right as the creature shot forth, the boy tilted his body and slammed his reinforced bokken into its side, causing it to veer off course away from where he had pushed Nanoha and into a concrete fence.

Of course, such recklessness also caused Shirou to slam into a nearby lamppost. After all, the boy's still lacking in strength and size, and he had just tried to parry a charging monstrosity the size of a car.

Gritting his teeth at the pain, Shirou quickly made a grab at Nanoha's hand and pulled her up from the ground. "Sorry 'bout that," the boy said, flinching slightly due to his sore back.

Before Nanoha could start questioning Shirou on what just happened, a voice interrupted them. "You've actually came!"

"Ahh it talked!" the pigtailed girl exclaimed, nearly dropping the furry critter if it weren't for its grip on her sleeve.

"Aha! I knew there was something magical about you!" Shirou shouted in glee as he jabbed a finger at the ferret before wincing at his earlier injury. Remembering the cause of his current pain, he turned his attention to where the blob monster crashed into. Apparently, the creature was starting to reform itself. "So any idea how we could kill that thing?" he asked, his voice suddenly cold and calculating.

Seeing the sudden shift in personality, the ferret quickly replied. "It can't be killed. We can only seal it."

"And how do we do that?"

"Raising Heart has a sealing function, but I'm currently low on mana," the critter stated regrettably as it held up the red gem around its neck in its mouth. "Could one of you lend me your strength? I will pay you back! I promise!"

If the situation hadn't been so grave, Shirou would've been jumping in joy at finally getting a chance to be a hero. Instead, he just gave the ferret a nod. Unfortunately, before he could reach out for it, he noticed a dark shadow getting wider and wider on the ground. Looking up, he saw the monster had somehow reformed in the air and had started falling, planning to crush the trio under its weight.

Nanoha had apparently noticed the incoming attack as well, and had leaped away from the point of impact. Unfortunately she had jumped away from Shirou as well, causing the two to be separated by the blob.

Shirou couldn't help but curse at his luck. Not only had he been separated from the only means to defeat this beast, Nanoha was alone on the other side of it. To make matter worse, he had accidentally dropped his weapon when he escaped from being crushed.

Looking down the street, he couldn't help but be slightly amazed by the reinforced training weapon he had wielded earlier. It had been used to veer the giant rampaging beast off its course earlier and he had seen the edge of the blob impacted the blade when he had dropped it, but other than the indentation on its hilt caused by him earlier, it didn't look damaged at all.

Making a quick search around him, he spotted a meter-long piece of lumber lying in a pile of debris. Without a second thought, he hoisted it out and charged at the creature. While knowing the threat of performing Magecraft under these types of circumstances is suicidal for him, Shirou could care less. In his mind, if he didn't act, Nanoha and the talking rodent would be in danger. Bracing himself for whatever consequences he might be facing soon, Shirou cried out his aria.

"Trace on!"

The familiar surge of pain flooded through his nerves was pushed to the side as he started flooding Od through the makeshift weapon. With a loud yell, the redhead charged forth, lifting the piece of wood above his head before swinging it down as hard as he could. Surprisingly, the hastily created weapon held strong in its first use, impacting the still growing blob with enough force to leave an indent.

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Shirou continued his assault. It would've been a bad idea for the beast to regain any footing seeing how dangerous it was. Unfortunately, after he had stabbed it on his fifth strike, the makeshift weapon exploded from being overloaded with magical energy.

The boy clicked his tongue in frustration at losing his weapon, but he was thankful whatever he did was enough to disperse the reforming beast once again. He had lucked out when the meter-long wooden column exploded in a shower of splinters, seeing as the backlash from his overloaded weapon had somehow managed to pop it like an overinflated balloon.

A sudden bright flash of pink appeared from his side, causing him to turn his attention to it. He was surprised when he found Nanoha's form appearing with what looked like a sailor uniform lightly decorated with blue linings and red gems, matching pair of shoes, and even a pair of blue metallic cuffs around her forearms acting like guards. She was also holding onto a white staff with pink and blue parts, a large red gem suspended in a large partial golden ring with two exhaust valves, and a white piece protruding from the ring, looking like a fin.

"What's that?" the redhead asked, dumbfounded.

Before the girl could reply, the ferret spoke up. "All questions will be answered later! We need to get the Jewel Seed sealed before it could continue its rampage!"

"Right!" the girl replied, holding up the staff and pointing it at where the beast was. "…Ano… how do I do that?"

Both Shirou and the ferret facefaulted at that. Shaking away the awkward moment, the ferret answered, "Just point the staff at there the beast was and say Jewel Seed Seal. Raising Heart should handle the sealing automatically."

As Nanoha commenced the sealing sequence, Shirou couldn't help but feel a bit of pride. He had fought his first true battle, executed Magecraft under a scenario which most likely would've left him a cripple at best, and came out of it alive! His whole body had felt like it could collapse at any moment but his he couldn't care less about that.

Another bright pink flash later and Shirou saw the result of the sealing the ferret was talking about. The part near the ring on Nanoha's staff opened up before protruding three pink wing-like fins completely made of pure mana before a magic circle unfolded under her. It had then proceeded to wrap whatever was left of the blob together before piercing it with a dozen pink beams.

The redhead couldn't help but wonder if he would have a chance to learn something like that in the future. Maybe he should search for a magical staff like the one Nanoha was currently using.

The creature gave one last strangled growl before its body shattered, leaving behind a small diamond-shaped jewel. Walking over to the floating bluish gem, Shirou couldn't help but looked in awe at it. He was having a hard time imagining something so insignificantly looking causing that much damage.

"That is a Jewel Seed," the ferret explained. "Just touch it with Raising Heart."

Nanoha nodded and followed its instruction. Holding out the staff, the duo watched in fascination as the gem slowly drifting toward the red sphere on it before it disappeared.

**[Receipt number XXI]** the staff intoned, signifying the success of the sealing. With its task done, the staff flashed again and started shrinking. By the time the light died down, all that was left was the red gem the ferret was carrying.

The two humans gave a sigh before Shirou turned to the talking animal. "Well, now that the monster is defeated, mind telling us what is going on?"


	2. Chapter 2

Alright, second chapter of Limitless Blades is a go! My muse is starting to pick up some steam finally!

Okay, so now we are going into the second episode of the classic Nanoha show. This is an info dump chapter more or less. You have been warned.

As of right now, I don't have a beta. Any grammar needed correcting, please feel free to point them out in my reviews.

To start with, I will point out the classifications in the explanation.

In the Nanoha verse, magic users are referred to as mage (madōshi)  
In Nasu-verse, the general magic users are referred to as magus (majutsushi) and the True Magic users are called magicians (mahōtsukai)

I'm not too sure if that is correct and I know I didn't get into all the detailed classifications of other magic users in the Nasu-verse, so please don't flame me on that. (Holds up Luciferion) All flames will be used to charge up mah Luciferion Breaker!

Ohh, there is also a poll I've set up on my profile so please vote there. It will most likely come down when this story enters the A's arc. If you pick 'others', please give suggestions in PM.

* * *

**Disclaimer: If I own either series, Nanoha's pretty beams of doom would most likely not be pink (not that I have anything against that color...) and Heaven's Feel (True end) would be an anime series by now... maybe a Shirouko spinoff too...**

* * *

_To be a hero of justice. It had always been a dream for me since I could remember. After the fire in Fuyuki five years ago, seeing the man who saved me, and being trained in the way of Magecraft, I had strived to help all those in need._

_I would've never imagined I would have a chance to achieve my goal at my current age; talking animals, giant monsters created by small gems, and magical transforming staves! It sounded a lot like those stories I've read when I was slightly younger!_

_And it all started with an injured ferret we've found._

_Now, my best friend is a magical girl and I'm being dragged into an incident beyond my comprehension of magic. This incident will be marked down as the biggest turning point in my life on my journey to become a true hero._

_Mahou Senki Limitless Blades will now begin._

* * *

"Finished with that call, Nanoha?" Shirou asked as the girl entered the living room of his home. Receiving a nod, he turned his attention to the talking ferret currently sitting on his coffee table.

The hectic night had finally calmed down after the trio of humans and animal fled the damaged vet clinic moments before the police arrived. Currently, the boy was currently lying down on his stomach on a sofa with bags of ice covering his bruised back. When Nanoha took a seat across from him, Shirou decided to start the conversation.

"So, where should we begin?"

"Hmm… how about we start with introductions then?" Nanoha suggested with her head tilted. "I'll go first. My name is Takamachi Nanoha. Currently a third year elementary school student. My friends and family just calls me Nanoha," she finished with a smile.

"I'm Yuuno Scrya. Scrya is my family name and Yuuno is my given name," the ferret stated before giving a deep bow. "I wish to apologize for getting the both of you involved in this."

Seeing the talking animal looking down, Shirou gave its forehead a flick. "Did you plan for this to happen?" he questioned. Receiving a loud 'NO!' from it, the redhead grinned. "Then there's no need to apologize. By the way, I'm Emiya Shirou. Nanoha's friend and classmate and a magus-in-training. Just call me Shirou," the redhead stated, giving a shaky thumbs-up before he grumbled, "I wish I could use healing Magecraft…"

"Magus? Magecraft?" Nanoha questioned, tilting her head in confusion.

"Ah, right. I forgot we had someone who didn't know about the magic before today here," Shirou grumbled before turning his head to face the girl. There really was no point in keeping magic a secret from her at this point and he didn't know how to cast any form of hypnosis anyway. "Remember when I took on that creature's charge with just a wooden sword and the sword didn't break? I was using Reinforcement Magecraft to strengthen it with magic. Magus is just what we called those who practices Magecraft."

Yuuno looked intrigued at the prospect. "I didn't know there were magic users on this planet before and I definitely never heard someone who could make an ordinary item more powerful simply by infusing it with mana. Shirou, could you please hold Raising Heart for a moment?"

Shirou nodded. He had been curious about the red gem as well. Since he was still having problems moving due to his injured back, the ferret had to place the gem in his hand for him.

**[Access denied. Current user's Linker Core is damaged. Seeking medical attention immediately is advised,]** the device chimed.

That was definitely not what he had expected. "Wait, what do you mean by 'damaged'?"

Another chime was heard from the red gem before it continued. **[Current user's Linker Core had been tainted by foreign mana. It is slowly eroding away the ability to channel mana sufficiently and causing interference. If medical treatment is not administered soon, the current user will be unable to channel mana.]**

Shirou shifted uncomfortably before he took a deep breath, calming himself before he asked his next question. While there is a lot more questions he wished to ask the device about, he was more focused on one particular issue. "Umm… Will using magic affect whatever it is in that 'Linker Core' thing you talked about?"

There was a slight pause before the gem chimed again. **[No. The foreign mana is spreading at a consistent rate regardless of external interferences.]**

The redheaded boy couldn't help but sigh in relief. At least now he had a suspicion as to why he had such a hard time using magic. Looking at the ferret, he put up a wry smile. "Well, when this is all over, would you mind showing me to a doctor?"

Yuuno nodded immediately. "Yes, it's the least I could do for your assistance."

Looking at the ferret, the boy couldn't help but question, "Are you sure you should be moving around like that? Weren't you hurt earlier?"

"Ah, well… thanks to your intervention, I was able to use my remaining mana to heal myself."

Biting back a curse about lucky magical talking rodents with healing abilities, Shirou decided to get to the most pressing issue of their current discussion. "So, Yuuno-san, would you mind telling us about what is going on around here?"

Yuuno nodded. "That creature that you fought was actually a manifestation created by a Lost Logia known as Jewel Seed. Each seed contains a large amount of power. I uncovered them when I was on an archaeological dig and had asked the Time-Space Administration Bureau to retrieve them. Unfortunately, the transport had an accident en route.

"When I heard the news, I came here immediately. I was the one who found it, so it should be my responsibility to reseal them after they fell onto this planet," the ferret finished solemnly. Shirou nodded in understanding. Maybe it's just like how he had felt regret for not helping those who died in the fire five years ago and decided to walk the path of a hero so he could try making up for his past failure.

Deciding to take the tension off, Shirou spoke up. "Interesting… So there's a race of talking ferrets working as archaeologists in space huh?"

"Oi! I'm not a talking ferret! I'm just staying in this form because it is more inconspicuous!" Yuuno retorted; the solemn mood suddenly lifted. "I'm a boy just like you!"

"Until I see you turning into a boy, I'll keep calling you a talking ferret. Ferret-san."

Before Yuuno had a chance to claw at Shirou's face, Nanoha decided to interfere. "Ano… Lost Lo-something and the Time-Space Administration Bureau, what are they?"

The ferret gave a light cough to regaining his composure before righting himself up on his hind legs. "Lost Logia are magical items with an enormous amount of power, left behind by civilizations lost to the universe. How they were created had remained a mystery but there is no arguing that they are dangerous in the wrong hands. The Jewel Seeds themselves seem to have the ability to grant a person's wish to some extent, but-"

"-a wish could be taken in different ways, so they probably cause more problems than they are worth," Shirou finished. The duo looked at his sudden increase of insight in surprise.

Feeling their gape, the redhead shifted in his position before retorting. "It's just something Kiritsugu-oji-san told me a while back. 'An omnipotent wish-granting device does not exist no matter how much we wish for it'. That was what he had told me before."

Giving a hesitant nod, the ferret continued, "Right… well, usually when the Jewel Seed is left alone for too long without being contained, it will take a form of its own. That was what happened with the one we sealed earlier.

"As for the Time-Space Administration Bureau, more commonly known as the Bureau; it is an interdimensional security force formed by the union of different worlds. Currently it is based on Mid-Childa. They act as a police force and often provide disaster relief to other worlds especially when magic and Lost Logia are involved."

Shirou nodded, recalling something about the Enforcers Kiritsugu had told him about. He chided himself for not paying closer attention during those lessons. "Well, since they aren't here, we will just have to take this case into our own hands then," the redhead stated. "It might be too late when they get here after all."

"But you can't!" Yuuno protested. "It is too dangerous! When Jewel Seeds go out of control due to being in contact with someone's wish or strong feelings, it will release its maximum power! What you've fought tonight is merely a fraction of what it could do and look at you!"

The ferret had expected Shirou to cry out in anger childishly for being dismissed or even answered with another one of his snarky comments. What he didn't expect was a bright smile forming on said boy's face. "I've been training since I could remember in order to prepare for these kinds of disasters… Well, not exactly THESE kinds of disasters but I can still help hold off one of those things until Nanoha gets the sealing done," he finished with a thumbs-up.

"And I will help out any way I can as well!" Nanoha chimed in.

"But…"

"No buts. Your Linker Core or whatever it was the talking red gem called it is probably still low on magic. Besides, this is our town. As the only magus currently here, it is my job to protect it," Shirou declared. "It is what a hero would do anyway!"

"And since I'm the only one who could use Raising Heart, I will need to do my part to keep the town safe," Nanoha added. Looking at Shirou, she could help but take a light jab at her friend. "Besides, someone needs to keep an eye on Shirou so he wouldn't be too reckless."

"Oi, I'm not that bad!" the redhead spoke up in discord.

"Yes you are!" the pigtailed girl countered. "Remember that one time when you tried to help the other kid with his balloon stuck in a tree? How about the time when you tried to save that kitten that fell into the lake? The time you nearly got run over by a bicycle trying to get the soccer ball back for my dad's team? And let's not forget tonight when you JUMPED IN FRONT OF THAT MONSTER TRYING TO SQUISH US!"

Each time Nanoha made a point, Shirou had felt a stab. Was he truly a reckless individual? After a short thought, the boy finally admitted, "Okay… so maybe I'm a bit reckless…"

Nanoha snorted in an unladylike fashion before she started chiding on all of Shirou's past bullheaded actions and their consequences while the boy could do nothing but lay there, cursing lowly at his injured back for his current immobility.

Off to the side, Yuuno could do nothing but shake his head in defeat. With no way of contacting any professional help, the two children were his last hope at stopping any Jewel Seed-related disasters before he is fully recovered. He did, however, let a smile grace his lips; touched by how the two were willing to lend him a helping hand despite knowing the hazard they were putting themselves into. Hopefully, the duo is more reliable than they currently seem and that successful sealing wasn't a fluke. If not, then they were all doomed.

* * *

After a night's rest with Nanoha staying over at his house, Shirou was feeling a lot better. Despite the amount of punishment he had taken not even a full day's time ago, he was able to move around freely with the occasion ache due to a stiff muscle. The boy had decided to take the couch seeing as he wasn't going to be moving any time soon during the night and had let Nanoha sleep in his room.

The sun had just started rising so he figured it was around 4:30. One look at the clock confirmed his deduction. Seeing as it was still early, he decided to go out to the front yard to do his usual morning stretches. Half way through his exercise, he saw Nanoha rushing out of his front door, pausing only when she finally saw him. "Ah, thank you for letting me stay for the night. I need to get going," she blurted out quickly before continuing on her way.

Shirou couldn't help but looked at the retreating girl's back with amusement, especially with the little ferret hanging on for dear life as the girl ran at full power. For someone who said she wasn't good at sport, she sure runs like a cross country sprinter.

The boy had thought about stopping her for a moment but brushed it off. For once, someone else was suffering from the girl going at full throttle and he wasn't going to divert her attention back to himself. Besides, it wasn't like Yuuno was in any mortal danger… probably.

Offering a small prayer for its safety, Shirou went back to his usual routine.

* * *

"_Are you sure you are okay moving around like that, Shirou-kun? You couldn't even move without being in pain last night."_

"_Yea, I'm able to heal a lot faster than what is 'normal' especially when I'm resting. Any bruises and cuts I get will heal overnight simply by sleeping. Kiritsugu said it was due to something special in my body but he never really told me."_

Currently, the duo was walking to school as usual. The only difference was that they were not currently conversion through speech but through telepathy. After the shock Nanoha had given Shirou while he was cooking with the sudden mental intrusion, the two had decided to try getting more used to the spell.

While Shirou was not able to cast it even after the explanation from Yuuno, he felt the usefulness of it. If he was separated from Nanoha during their hunt like the day before or when the girl needs help while he wasn't around, they would have a way to communicate.

The redhead was a bit jealous of Nanoha though. She had barely taken a few minutes to learn the telepathy spell without all the blood and sweat he had experienced when it comes to utilizing magic. Apparently, she just had to imagine breathing in with the Linker Core, input the command through a list of logarithmic calculations, release the required amount of mana and the spell will activate.

From what Nanoha had gathered about Yuuno's brand of magic after she had rushed home to get ready for school, it was more science-based than his intent-based thaumaturgy. He couldn't help but be amused by that fact. Who would've thought there was a civilization out there that fused science and magic to the point where they are practically the same thing?

"_By the way, how's Yuuno doing at your house?"_

"_Everyone just loves him,"_ the girl replied happily, _"although there was a point where mom and onee-chan nearly suffocated him. He's resting right now in my room. Must have been exhausted due to being snuggled for almost an hour nonstop."_

"_And it has nothing to do with you running at full speed home while he was hanging onto your collar for dear life,"_ the boy chuckled, earning a slap to the back of his head from the pouting pigtailed girl._ "So what are you going to do today? Going to try and learn more spells from Yuuno?"_

"_Raising Heart will be training me today," _the girl replied. _"She said I wasn't able to use her to her full capabilities yet."_

That got the boy's attention. _"Wait, so the talking gem is able to teach you? I never thought there were magic items out there that could do that."_

Nanoha gave a giggle at the awed expression shown on Shirou's face. _"I guess that's why she is known as an Intelligent Device. And what would you be doing, Shirou-kun?"_

The redhead took a moment to ponder before replying. _"I'm going to look around for possible Jewel Seed citing before kendo lessons and Magecraft practice before bed. Hopefully I don't stay up too late doing that again… Ohh, I need to pick up groceries too since it is Saturday. Maybe I can try a new recipe tonight."_

"Ahh! So that's why you're always staying up so late!" the pigtailed girl suddenly cried out loud, causing the other students to look at them funnily. After a quick apology for the sudden outburst, the two continued their track, with Shirou trying and failing horribly at holding back a chuckle and Nanoha pouting cutely at him.

"_Well, now you know. I don't really have enough time during the day with school, practicing kendo with your brother, homework, and housework," _Shirou reasoned. _"And since Kiritsugu-oji-san usually disappears and reappears whenever he wants, I try to perfect my craft as well as I can so he would actually teach me something new. I've been stuck on Reinforcement for almost half a year now," _the redhead sighed in frustration.

Kiritsugu's teaching method truly irked him. The man would teach him a few basic things and leave for parts unknown for an extended period of time. When he comes back, he would simply tell Shirou to show him how proficient he was at performing what he was taught. If it wasn't satisfactory, the tired-looking man will simply tell him to continue practicing until it was done perfectly.

Then there were the lengthy lessons about the magical society on Earth and the lectures that covered anything magic-related. It wouldn't have been so bad if the person teaching it simply droned about it in a monotonous voice. The boy barely remembers what Kiritsugu teaches him if it wasn't a practical lesson.

"_Ohh? Your father is a mage?" _the girl asked, surprised at the revelation.

"_Well, yea. There are not really any magic schools here on Earth that parents could send their children to. It's a lot more secretive. While there are places that do research on magic, you would need a recommendation to even set foot in there. Besides, it is in England," _the boy replied with a shrug. _"Ohh, and Kiritsugu-oji-san calls himself a magus, not a mage."_

"_Is there a difference?"_

"_Not really, just a way to classify them I guess."_

Nanoha nodded in agreement. Her head felt like it was ready to burst at any given moment with all the information. Thankfully any more conversations about the new world she just stepped into came to a halt when the duo saw Alisa and Suzuka waving at them in front of the school gates.

* * *

After school ended, Shirou went about his usual routine of walking the three girls to cram school. Apparently, Alisa and Suzuka had noticed the duo acting closer than they usually were. This prompted a lot of questioning and teasing from the two rich girls.

After seeing the trio to their destination, Shirou took a detour to the nearby grocery store. Once he entered, he was greeted by a certain wheelchair-bound girl.

"Shirou-han, you're late," the short-haired girl who speaks in strong Kansai dialect pouted at the boy, prompting him to rub the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry, Hayate. I had to help someone find their lost notebook before I left school."

"Mou, you could never say no to anyone needin' help could ya?"

The boy merely gave a sheepish smile and shook his head, earning a sign from the girl.

The girl Shirou's currently hanging out with is Yagami Hayate. The two had met a few weeks prior when she had just moved into town. At the time, she was still trying to get used to living by herself after her guardian went away on some work-related trip. With no one helping her, she was having a hard time trying to get used to the new city.

Fortunately, she had run into the redheaded boy while trying to reach for some of the items on a high shelf and he had decided to help the girl out. Since then, the two decided to meet on every Wednesday and Saturday after school, much to Hayate's protest at first. The girl simply didn't wish to trouble Shirou due to her kind nature.

The arrangement had worked well so far; Shirou was able to help someone in need while Hayate was able to have someone to talk to. There was also the fact that they had both enjoyed the fine arts of cooking, sharing and comparing different recipes that had made the duo lost track of time more than once.

As the two started stocking up on their supplies for the next few days, Shirou started recounting what had happened to him for the past few days. He had also proceeded to tell the girl about finding an injured that one of his friends is currently taking care off. Of course, he had omitted the whole 'finding out said ferret is of the magical talking variety and that he had fought a gelatinous fur blob before his friend could seal it with a magical transforming/talking staff from outer space' thing.

Promising to show her said ferret when his friend has some time off after a trip to a nearby cake shop, he escorted the girl to a wheelchair-accessible bus before heading back to his home.

Unfortunately, the redhead boy's plan was derailed when he felt a sudden spike of magic close by. It felt as if a jolt of electricity had surged through his entire body. Normally, Shirou wouldn't be able to sense magic the way he had just experienced, but the boy was close enough to the source to feel it. _'Must have been a Jewel Seed.'_

Looking at the time displayed on his cell phone, he figured Nanoha must have just finished her extra schooling. Before he could call the girl, the familiar feeling of a mental probe from said girl interrupted him.

"_Shioru-kun, Yuuno-kun, did you feel that?" _the girl asked frantically.

"_Yea, I was just about to call you when I felt it,"_ Shirou replied.

"_It is definitely a Jewel Seed activating. I'll be on my way there," _Yuuno stated, rushing out of Nanoha's home while avoiding her family as stealthily as possible.

"_I'm going ahead to scout out the place then." _Getting a 'Good luck' and 'Be careful' from Nanoha and Yuuno respectively, the redhead turned toward the stairs on his left leading up to a Shinto shrine and started running to, stopping half way to drop off his groceries next to a torii.

When he had reached the top, he was greeted by a large four-eyed black beast with horns, sharp claws, protruding spike-like spine, and serrated fangs. There were also some weird protrusions from its chest and behind its hind legs.

Instead of turning around and running away screaming like most people would, Shirou charged forth. After all, there was a woman lying at the foot of the beast and he was never one to turn away from danger when someone needed help. Grabbing a stone off the ground, the boy quickly threw it at the giant beast.

Seeing the beast turned its attention from its unconscious prey to him, Shirou started sweating. _"Um… Nanoha, are you still there?"_

"_What is it Shirou-kun?"_ the girl asked, worry etched in her voice.

"_I might've angered the Jewel Seed creature…"_

The loud 'Ehh!' from the girl made him flinch a bit but he forced himself to focus on the beast. After all, it isn't wise to turn one's attention away from a large, angry, possibly man-eating, unknown creature of destruction.

Shirou barely rolled out of the way when he noticed the beast tensed and tried to pounce on him. _"Nanoha, better get here quickly and seal this thing. I don't think I can do much against it especially without any weapons."_

Thinking quickly, the boy took off toward the small shop set up at the shrine; hoping to find something he could use as a weapon there.

However, the beast had found its prey before he could reach the store. With another mighty leap, the large beast descended on the redhead, tackling him into the ground.

Shirou could only gulp audibly when he saw the giant black beast looking down at him with its jaws slightly parted, showing off its sharp canines. With his arms pinned under its paws, the boy could barely move.

At this point, there was only one thing he could think of that might work against the beast. With his arms pinned and no weapons nearby, the only thing he could do was kick at the beast. Given his small stature and lack of strength, that tactic was not going to be useful unless he try something very dangerous and stupid: Self-Reinforcement.

Given the condition he had found himself in, there was no other choice. He could either take a risk and possibly dying, or get eaten by the Jewel Seed-created creature.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to create a circuit.

"Trace… ON!"

The familiar feeling of pain shooting down his spine nearly made him chip a tooth from how hard he was clenching his jaws. Without much time to think, he started forcing Od into his legs, strengthening them to the best of his ability while trying not to overload himself. Hopefully, he wouldn't accidentally destroy his legs.

Luckily, fortune smiles upon the boy. With a swift push, the young magus-in-training kicked the creature in its chest with enough force to actually drive it off the ground slightly.

Given the small opening, Shirou quickly scramble away from the gasping beast as quickly as possible, but the strain to his leg muscles he had suffered from using that reinforced kick was slowing him down considerably. While they were not torn, the feeling of his two lower limbs throbbing painfully was still enough to make him move at a slower rate than he currently liked.

This was the scene Nanoha and Yuuno found upon stepping foot into the shrine grounds.

"What should we do Yuuno-kun?! Shirou-kun is in danger!" asked out loud in panic, the red gem clenched tightly in her left hand.

"The Jewel Seed must have possessed a nearby animal, so it's more stable than what we fought last night." the ferret answered hastily. This was what he had feared when the two children decided to join him on his quest to collect the Jewel Seeds. "You need to activate Raising Heart right now!"

"How do I activate Raising Heart again?" the girl asked, prompting the ferret to facefault.

"It's the 'I, the one who accepted this mission' password!"

"Eh~? I can't remember something that long!" answered the girl. However, seeing her redheaded friend nearly getting mauled by the creature made her rush forth without thinking. "Shirou-kun! Watch out!"

The beast, hearing the shout, spun around to meet Nanoha. Giving a low growl, it decided to switch its target to the approaching girl.

Seeing the large creature leaping toward her, the girl gave out a surprised yelp as she brought her hands up to shield herself.

**[Stand by. Ready.]**

Pink light started shining out from between her fingers as a small surge of mana washed over the area.

**[Set up]** the device chimed again as the glow brightened further before dimming down, revealing the familiar staff in Nanoha's hand. **[Protection.]**

Shirou could only stare in awe at what happened. One moment the black creature was leaping toward Nanoha with its claws forward, and then the beast seemed to have crashed into a wall of pink light before being flung off to the side like a bag of garbage.

The ferret was looking at Nanoha in awe as well. _'Not only had Nanoha activated Raising Heart without the incantation, she was able to use a spell right after as well!'_

Shirou, on the other hand, was jealous of the girl's achievement. She had barely learned about the existence of magic a night before and now she had already achieved more in that subject than he had in the past few years. Not only was she able to learn the telepathy spell in less than an hour, she was now forming barriers of pure magic that could withstand the impact of a rampaging truck-sized beast without taking any damage to her person!

"Quick! Seal the Jewel Seed before it could attack again!" The voice of the talking ferret snapped Nanoha out of her surprise before she gave a nod.

"Raising Heart, please."

**[Sealing mode. Set up.]**

Like yesterday, the three mana-created wings shot out of the staff before giving off a shine. Ribbons of pink light shot up from the magical circle beneath the beast before tying it down, making it growl out in fury but unable to budge. Soon, the numbers XVI appeared on its forehead.

**[Stand by. Ready.]**

"Lyrical Magical. Jewel Seed Serial XVI, seal!"

**[Sealing]**

The creature soon burst into speck of magic dust, leaving behind an unconscious puppy and a floating blue gem where it once was.

Holding out the staff, the gem slowly floated to where she was before entering the ruby sphere like the previous Jewel Seed did.

**[Receipt number XVI]**

A relaxed sigh escaped the girl as the staff morphed back into the small red gem. Hearing a soft thud, she turned her head over to the sound to find Shirou lying on the ground looking up at the sky.

"Are you okay, Shirou-kun? You're hurt! We need to get you to a hospital!" the girl cried out frantically, fussing over her best male friend.

"I'm fine," the boy answered with a dull voice. This experience had been humbling. He had believed he could save people with his limited knowledge of Magecraft without much problem after fighting off the blob monster a night before.

As Nanoha helped him up, he couldn't help but wish Kiritsugu was back from his trip. If he doesn't get stronger soon, he was going to be a liability to Nanoha on their search for those dangerous space gems.

* * *

When Shirou had finally made it home with Nanoha helping out with his groceries, it was already dark outside. Thankfully, he had given a call to Kyouya earlier, vaguely telling him about running into some problems and couldn't make it to practice.

After thanking the girl, he slowly moved into the kitchen with his foodstuffs. As he was preparing to store the recently purchased groceries away, the sound someone saying 'I'm home' alerted him. Opening the door from the kitchen, he came face-to-face with the person he wanted to talk to.

Seeing his adopted son, Kiritsugu smiled wryly at him. "So anything happened while I was gone?"

Instead of the usual smile he would get from the child, the boy was looking at him with steel in his eyes. "Oji-san," Shirou began before giving a deep bow, "please teach me more Magecraft! I need to get stronger!"


	3. Chapter 3

New chapter! Yay! My brain is officially slush since I tried to make the one week dateline! With minimum amount of sleep due to a damn kid crying every damnable night! I swear, if that's how kids behave, I'm not gonna have any of my own. Oh the headaches I'll not have to face if I stay single and just screw around.

Okay... enough about that. Spoiler notes this time!

[Spoiler! Spoiler!]

First of all, my story just took a quick turn away from the norms of a Nanoha X Fsn fic by introducing one of the least used characters in the Nanoha-verse and one of the most badass characters in Nasu-verse! Their part in the story is still debatable at the moment cause I'm literally just pulling this story out of thin air. Hopefully my muse will grant them more screen time, or maybe I can have a little substory of them.

Hmm... that sounds promising. The possible off screen part of the story that is edgier and bloodier. If someone wanna try making a possible spinoff for this story, PM me please.

This story is still not diverging too much from canon... yet... but just you wait readers! It should start diverting from the story path around chapter 5 or 6.

I know a lot of you readers want Shirou to get a power up and start firing off 'Lyrical Grade' blast of awesomeness, but I'm going to build up to that. He is going to come up with a complete mix-match Magecraft of his own in the near future. That is all the hints you readers are gonna get out of me for now, which is plenty.

[Spoiler end]

Well, as usual, sorry about any grammar mistakes, review for my ego's sake, give me some constructive criticism so I could improve on my writing, and all flames will be used to feed Grail-kun.

*whispers* He actually likes eating them... *whisper*

Enjoy the new chapter of Mahou Senki: Limitless Blades!

* * *

**Disclaimer: The writer known as Shiratori Ryuga does not own Nanoha or anything from the Nasu-verse. Sorry, but my muse had been used up on the story so no witty disclaimer this time.**

* * *

"So… just in case I've misheard you… did you just say there was a Jewel Seed that more or less too the form of a tentacle monster and was stealing women's clothing at a public pool?" Shirou asked with Yuuno currently perched on his shoulder while Nanoha finished setting up the sealing. "You know… when we started hunting these things, I was expecting giant bloodthirsty creatures or beasts of mass destruction… not clothe stealing tentacle perverts!"

Yuuno could only grumble in agreement. Apparently, the last Jewel Seed encounter was also the time he finally discovered hormone, seeing as how he nearly fainted from a nosebleed when Alisa and Suzuka were dropped in front of him stark naked.

"By the way, why didn't you tell me about that Jewel Seed?" the redhead continued, eyeing the ferret curiously.

"I tried," Yuuno answered, "but for some reason, my mental link couldn't reach you."

Shirou nodded after thinking about what the ferret had just said. "So Kiritsugu-oji-san's Bounded Field also works on stopping mental intrusion when it is activated. I'll have to remember that."

Yuuno blinked in surprise at that. "Your world has a branch of magic that could create an area-type force field?" he questioned before shaking his head. "The more I hear about your branch of magic, the more I'm surprised the Bureau hadn't made contact with your world yet."

Currently, the trio was at their elementary school at night, hunting the next activated Jewel Seed… Well, more like Nanoha's beating down on the Jewel Seed manifested creature while the two males of the party stood in the background keeping an eye out for any escape attempts by the beast.

While the redhead had been getting extra lessons from the recently returned Kiritsugu, he still wasn't strong enough to help out Nanoha. The girl's proficiency in magic had increased in leaps and bounds. She had even started including flight in her repertoire of spells.

Shirou had felt the slight jealousy growing but squashed it down every time he realized his feelings. He should've felt proud about his best friend's improvements, not angry at how much more advance she was when she had barely started learning the mystic arts from space.

Seeing a stray tentacle shot toward him and Yuuno, Shirou held up his right and chanted 'Trace on' before bringing a materialized crude-looking sword down on the offending appendage. While the blade was not sharp enough to cut off the attacking limb, it was able to easily knock it away.

The user of Earth magic couldn't help but sigh. Over the past two weeks or so, he had forced Kiritsugu to train him in the use of Magecraft. All he had gotten out of the man was Gradation Air, the ability to materialize an object in accordance to the caster's imagination through the use of prana. He still remember the grilling his adoptive father gave him the night he had given him the night he practically begged to be taught more advance Magecraft.

* * *

_The father and son pair had made their way into the living room after Shirou's request to learn more of Magecraft. While he had always been enthusiastic about the mystic arts, he never really did formally request any lessons from the grown up. True, he had whined about not learning anything useful on more than one occasion and tried to make Kiritsugu give him more lessons on the subject, but not once had he lowered his head in such a formal way._

_After a quickly prepared cup of tea from the younger boy, Kiritsugu decided to humor the boy. "I believe we had an agreement that I will not teach you anything new until you've perfected what I've taught you before I leave on my trips," the man replied coolly, having adopted his Magus Killer persona._

_The boy couldn't help but shiver slightly at the coldness radiating off his father figure. He had seen it before when Kiritsugu had asked him if he was sure he wished to walk down the path of a magus and when he was giving a lesson on how to use the most basics of Magecraft in the most unconventional ways to achieve certain scenarios._

"_Yes, but I need this," the boy replied. "I need to get stronger soon or I won't be able to help those in need."_

_That got Kiritsugu's attention. The boy was still young, so he shouldn't have any need to get stronger at this point. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the boy shift uncomfortably and avoided eye contact as if he was hiding something. "Did something happen while I was away?"_

_The fidgeting boy suddenly froze. There was a short moment of silence before the boy answered, "It's complicated…"_

_Taking a sip of the tea Shirou had placed in front of him earlier, the man continued to stare at the boy in front of him. Shirou had never been good at lying no matter how hard he had tried in the past especially under the scrutinizing stare of the Magus Killer. "Then explain it in a simple way," the man stated. While there was no change in his tone, the overbearing aura given off by the survivor of the Forth Holy Grail War practically shown he had just demanded an answer from the boy._

"_It's something I have to do," the boy replied. While he was still shaken up by the cold demeanor of the man in front of him, he had steeled himself as much as possible. "A friend of mine needs my help, and I need some way to fight with Magecraft without being a hindrance. I wasn't any help the last time…" he finished quietly, but it was loud enough for the man to hear._

_The duo continued to stare at each other, before the older male relented. While Kiritsugu had wanted an explanation of Shirou's sudden need to learn more of the mystic arts, given in due to his fatigue._

_Emiya Kiritsugu, the Magus Killer from five years ago, would have gotten the boy in front of him to answer through any means necessary and, if the situation is deemed dire enough, take matters into his own hand. However, the degradation of his mind and body had corroded most of his strength and resolve away. He was but a shell of what he used to be. Even his fruitless endeavor to reclaim his daughter had seemed to get harder and harder with each attempt, even though there was no change in security at the Einzbern's castle after his first raid._

_With a grunt, the man who once upon a time dreamed of being a hero relented to the boy's wish. "Tell Kyōya-san you are to end practice earlier from now on. We will be starting your lessons tomorrow."_

"_Thanks, oji-san!" Shirou cheered before running out of the room, a bright smile etched on his face._

_Behind the boy, Kiritsugu continued to stare at him calculatingly. While he could do nothing about the current predicament, he could try and get Shirou prepared for it. The oriental doctor he had found in Misaki Town had told him he only have around five months left to live before his body completely shuts off due to the taint he had received from the cursed Grail, and that is if he refrain from using any Magecraft._

_If there is no other ways to save lives other than letting the boy he had adopted learn more on the mystic arts, then he would simply have to do his best in passing down what little knowledge still coherent enough in his head to pass on._

* * *

For reasons unknown to Shirou, he had been having an easier time executing his Magecraft when it came to bladed weapons, more specifically swords. He was grateful that he had the ability to create weapons without much hassle compare to other items.

Seeing the telltale pink flash and the magical dust falling to the ground like snow, Shirou lowered his sword and walked over to Nanoha. "Good job as usual," the redhead offered the pigtailed girl a smile and a small bottle of water.

"Thank you, Shirou-kun," Nanoha replied with her own smile. While this was only her third sealing, she was silently thankful for her best male friend's support. The girl had wondered quite a few times how her life would've been like if she hadn't met the boy with the same name as her father that day she went out to the docks.

Seeing the sudden shift in Nanoha's smile, Shirou's interest was suddenly peaked. "Something you find funny, Nanoha?"

"It's nothing," the girl answered, still maintaining that cheerful smile on her face.

"Come on, you can tell me."

"Shirou-kun, it's impolite to pester a lady into answering when she said it was nothing."

That last statement, combined with how the girl started waving her futuristic magical staff around made the redhead stop in his attempt to garner any other response out of her.

Yuuno could only shake his head at the scene. Was this what his clan leader had meant when he called certain men 'whipped'? And here he thought something like this would only happen to grown-ups…

* * *

"Nanoha, you really need to get more rest during the day if you want to continue doing this," Shirou sighed as he carried Nanoha on his back. Not surprisingly, the girl was not used to their late night excursions in search of the Jewel Seeds.

"Muu… How do you stay awake, Shirou-kun?" the girl mumbled into his back sleepily, Raising Heart still clutched tightly in her hand as it was dragged across the ground.

The redhead couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle at the girl's question. "Why do you think I fall asleep in class so much? I need to make up for my lost sleep somehow. Though I heard oji-san said that some magi could reduce the amount of sleep they need. I have no idea how though… Nanoha, are you still awake?"

"She must be tired from Raising Heart's constant drain on her mana," Yuuno deduced as he scurried up to Shirou's shoulder. "This often happens to mages who started learning magic. She should be fine after a night's rest."

A chime from the talking staff was heard before Raising Heart added,** [Master had been running training simulation programs whenever she can for the past seven days.]**

"So the idiot had not only been running low on magic, she had been stressing her mind as well…" Shirou couldn't help but palm his face at the revelation. And the girl had the audacity to tell him to stop overworking himself when it comes to helping out others. "Raising Heart, any chance of blocking her out of those training programs?"

The familiar chime emitted from the staff once more. **[I'm sorry. Only Master can set a lock to any programs.]**

The boy couldn't help but sigh at that. "Guess I'll have to talk to Nanoha about overdoing her training. Thanks for telling me, Raising Heart."

**[You're welcome.]**

Shirou couldn't help chuckling at the polite Intelligent Device. _'I wonder what my Device would be like… if I ever get one…"_

* * *

"Nanoha, you better get up now."

The voice of a boy slowly shook the girl aforementioned from her slumber. Giving a weary blink, Nanoha let out a yawn before stretching her arms up. "Good morning, Shirou-kun~~."

"It's already noon, Nanoha," the redhead answered, an amused smirk on his face seeing his friend's ignorant of the situation. The girl was currently still dressed in her pajamas, her medium-length hair awry as she rubbed the crust out of her eyes.

Without thinking, the girl started trying to take off her sleepwear before her eyes widened in realization. "S-S-S-Shirou-kun?! What are you doing here?!" she cried out, crossing her hands in front of her as if to hide her chest.

"Momoko-oba-san told me to wake you up," the redhead boy answered, the amused smirk still stuck on his face. Seeing the girl embarrassed had been one of his favorite pastimes since they had started getting to know each other more than just mere acquaintances. "I'll be waiting for you down stairs," the boy finished before exiting the room, leaving behind a stuttering, fully embarrassed girl behind.

Walking down the stairs, he felt the familiar weight of a certain ferret landing on his shoulder. "And that, Yuuno-san, is why I often volunteer to wake Nanoha up," he answered, causing the talking rodent to snicker.

* * *

"Shirou, you stink. Go sit somewhere else," a certain outspoken heiress said as she covered her nose with a handkerchief while waving her hand off at said boy in an over exaggerated manner, causing her two best friends to giggle.

The lone boy of the group raised his right hand and gave his armpit a tentative sniff before replying with a shrug, "I don't smell so bad." That respond prompted the trio of girls to let out a louder laugh.

Currently, the group was gathered in front of the Takamichi-owned café. Nanoha's father, Takamachi Shirō, had decided to bring his entire soccer team there for a celebratory meal after winning their most recent game.

The young Shirou couldn't help but smile as his teammates chatted animatedly with each other, but decided against joining them in their festive mood. He enjoyed spending time with Nanoha's circle of friends more than anyone else in their age group after all. This had apparently made the older kids in the team both amused and jealous, jokingly referring the girls he hung out with as his 'harem'.

After a few more jabs from Alisa about Shirou's current appearance, the two magically unaware members of the group turned their attention to the next most interesting thing around them: Yuuno the ferret.

"You know, I don't think I've seen a ferret quite like it before," Alisa stated, after staring a while at Yuuno in interest.

"Now that you mentioned it, the veterinarian did say it is quite unique too," Suzuka added.

The two comments made all the magically aware members currently sitting at the table froze in shock. They had forgotten to come up with an explanation for Yuuno's appearance. The talking critter had been with them for a while now so they had forgotten about Nanoha's two female friends.

"Um… well…"

"It is pretty smart for a ferret," Shirou quickly supplied. "Why don't you show then that trick, Nanoha?"

"Right!" the girl straightened up in her seat; making her two female friends gives each other a glance in confusion. "Ano… hand?"

Seeing the upheld hand from Nanoha, Yuuno decided to play along and place his paw on it with a soft squeak.

That little display prompted both Alisa and Suzuka to squeal excitedly.

"How cute!"

"Such a smart little fellow!"

Potential crisis averted, Shirou gave the currently smoldered ferret a telltale look. The talking ferret and Shirou had discussed Nanoha's current behavior in depth after they dropped her off at her home a night ago. Seeing the signal, Yuuno started the telepathic spell to link Shirou's thoughts to Nanoha.

"_Nanoha, we need to talk."_

The sudden mental voice projection made Nanoha jumped slightly but was thankfully missed by her two friends currently cooing over Yuuno.

"_Shirou-kun? Did you finally learn the spell? Congratulations!"_

Shirou couldn't help but rub the back of his head sheepishly. _"Ahh, no. Yuuno-san is the one maintaining the link currently. But that's not the point." _Sending the girl a hardened look, the boy continued, _"You need to cut back on all those training exercises you're making Raising Heart show you. It is tiring you out too much! Just look at last night!"_

"_But I need to get stronger," _the girl pouted. _"I've only started learning about magic after all, and with all these Jewel Seeds causing troubles, I need to get a lot stronger!"_

"_You're strong enough already,"_ Shirou retorted. _"At this point, you could most likely go up against a Jewel Seed by yourself and come out unscratched, unlike Yuuno and me."_

As much as it hurt his pride to admit it, Nanoha is the strongest in their current group. Even the talking ferret is stronger than him with its barrier, binding and force field spells. With each passing days, he had felt his chance of becoming a hero withering away, but quickly dismissed that depressing thought. _"Besides, Yuuno and I will be there to support you if you ever need it. You don't have to shoulder the responsibility all by yourself. So just take some time off, would you?" _the boy finished, taking a drink of the tea placed in front of him.

A moment passed as the two stared at each other before Nanoha relented. _"Alright,"_ the girl sighed, _"I'll lighten up on my training. Besides… shouldn't you be taking your own advice?"_

The sudden change in target of the conversation made Shirou choke on his drink, causing Alisa and Suzuka to look at him worryingly. After calming down from his coughing fits and telling the other girls he was fine, he turned his attention back to Nanoha. _"I know I spend a lot of time on my crafts, but at least I'm getting enough sleep throughout the day."_

"_Sleeping in class is not a good way of getting enough sleep throughout the day," _the girl retorted with a pout.

Shirou couldn't help but smile as he took another sip of his tea. _"And yet, I'm in the top ten highest grades in the school. The point is you need to stop trying to learn magic at full throttle. You're burning yourself out too fast. If this keeps up, you might have an accident; either collapsing during a fight or making a mistake in front of an opponent trying to harm you. As your partner, it is my job to keep your health in check."_

Off to the side, Yuuno was looking at the two curiously. _"You two are quite close. Are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?"_

This time, it was Nanoha's turn to nearly do a spit-take. _"Wha… I… Shirou…"_

"_We're just good friends, Yuuno-san," _Shirou decided to answer as he continue to sip his tea. He had been asked enough times about his relationship with Nanoha that he had answered automatically. Besides, he was barely ten years old. Most of the boys his age still think girls are gross.

Off to the side, Nanoha couldn't decide between feeling relieved about Shirou's blatant dismissal of the subject of irritated at it. Unfortunately for the redhead, she decided to settle with glaring at the oblivious boy with a dark aura surrounding her while Yuuno tried to move as far away from her as possible.

* * *

After bidding his closest friends farewell, Shirou decided to take a quick trip into town. His Magecraft training usually starts after dinner and it was still early in the afternoon, so he decided to take a quick stroll through a nearby park.

His bouts of jealousy had been growing more and more recently and he needed some time to clear his head. He knew that Nanoha's magic is vastly different from his own brand, but he couldn't help but feel inadequate when it comes to the hunts.

He had experienced excruciating pains to even learn what he currently knew, gallons of sweat and blood lost in training alone and yet he couldn't even stand up to a beginner like Nanoha. The frustrations in him were steadily turning into anger and he had been afraid of accidentally lashing out on his best friend, so he had slowly started distancing himself from her.

'_If only I could get stronger faster… I wish I could have my own device…'_

"Ah, Shirou-han, what a pleasant surprise!"

The familiar, soft-spoken, Kansai dialect-heavy voice broke Shirou out of his muse, causing him to stop midstride. Turning to the voice, he was surprised to see the crippled girl being wheeled around by a female in her late teens with long wavy black hair.

Shirou was eyeing the person behind Hayate with caution. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but feel like she was not truly human. The female smelled too strongly of cat to be anyways.

Apparently sensing the slight hostility in the boy, the older female narrowed her eyes slightly at him as well.

Unaware of the tension growing between her current helper and her best friend, Hayate spoke up again, "So what are ya doin' here, Shirou-han?"

The sudden interruption broke the tension between the two. Turning his eyes onto the soft-spoken girl, Shirou gave her a wry smile. "Just taking some time to think to myself. The past few days had been hectic for me with my guardian being back," he said with a strained laugh.

Hayate replied with a smile of her own. "Is that so?" It was painfully obvious that the boy was hiding something, but the girl decided against stating it out loud. Shirou had already told her about Kiritsugu's return a week prior and he had practically been bouncing off the walls.

Not wanting to stay on the tense subject, the crippled girl decided to change topics. "Ohh, that's right, ya've never met my caretakers before right? This is Aria Liese, she is one of my guardian's helpers." Turning around to face the now named caretaker, Hayate gestured to the redhead. "And that is Emiya Shirou. He had been helping me out during my shopping trips since oji-han had left."

"Nice to meet you…" the boy merely gave a curt bow, which the older girl returned.

If the girl sitting in the wheelchair thought it weird for Shirou to act so cautiously in front of her current caretaker weird, she did not voice it.

Before the conversation could go any further, an earthquake interrupted them. Sensing the sudden outburst of mana, Shirou immediately darted toward the epicenter of the quake. "Aria-san, please get Hayate to a safe place!" the boy cried out without looking back at the two. After all, a Jewel Seed had just activated and he had to search for any civilians in need of help.

* * *

At the same moment, Nanoha had also sensed the activation of the Jewel Seed. "Dad, I have something important to take care of! I'm leaving now!" she called out as she exited her house.

"Have a safe trip!" her father answered before giving a sigh. He had thought he had left that hazardous way of living behind when he moved into this city, but it seems like his days as a body guard had finally caught up with his current life.

Hearing the front door clicked shut, he quickly got out of the bathtub. After a quick drying off and putting on a fresh set of clothes which consists of a white dress shirt, black dress pants with matching black leather shoes, a dark grey Kevlar vest and a black blazer.

Before he exited the house, he decided to make a quick detour to the dojo. When he arrived, he was surprised to see one of the most dangerous men he had ever met in his life so far. Emiya Kiritsugu was standing next to the Takamichi's dojo entrance with his trademarked suit and duster.

"So what brings the famous Magus Killer to my humble dojo?" the current owner of Midori-ya asked as he strolled forward. While the man in front of him was dangerous, he did not have any reasons to attack.

"I believe you've felt something appearing in the downtown area of Uminari as well, head guard of the Tohno clan," Kiritsugu replied before taking a drag of his cigarette.

"That was a long time ago, Emiya-san, and I'm just about to go investigate. I just need to take my weapons," Shirō replied. He then stared at the still burning cigarette in Kiritsugu's hand in disdain. "You do remember I do not allow smoking at my home, do you not?"

Kiritsugu merely gave a sigh before putting out the smoke simply by squeezing it in his fist and stuffing it into his coat pocket.

"Thanks," the Takamachi patriarch nodded before making his way into the dojo swiftly. When he came back out, he saw Kiritsugu checking his watch impatiently. "Let's get going then," he offered the ex-mercenary before taking off.

Kiritsugu merely gave a grunt before he followed behind the ex-bodyguard, eyeing the two short blades curiously as he matched the other man's speed.

Seeing the curious glance of the older Emiya, Shirō held up the blades. "They're made by the Touzaki smiths near the end of the Edo period; still as sharp as the day they were forged. Kyōya will be inheriting it when I pass on my title as master of the Takamichi-nito-ryu kenjutsu."

The gruff-looking man gave the father of two a curt nod in acknowledgement as they continued their journey toward the disturbance in the city.

* * *

Shirou couldn't believe it. The amount of damage brought on by the newest Jewel Seed had been ridiculous. The tree created by the gems from outer space had grown at an absurd rate, upturning streets and breaking into some of the nearby buildings.

The only thing he had been grateful for was the fact that the Jewel Seed had created some sort of barrier around it, hiding itself from the normal citizens of Uminari.

There was nothing he could do. Hacking away at the roots with his projected swords had yield no results other than having those magically created swords snapped.

"Shirou-kun?"

The familiar voice of his best friend shook him out of his current frustration. Turning around, he saw Nanoha equipped with her white and blue Barrier Jacket, Raising Heart in her hand and floating in the sky with pink wing-like protrusions from her ankles.

"Trying to cut it away like that isn't going to work," Yuuno spoke up as he scurried up Nanoha's shoulder. "The only way we can stop this is find the place where it sprouted from and seal the Jewel Seed. Something like this must've been created by someone putting their strongest feelings and wishes into it, otherwise it wouldn't had release so much power at once."

Seeing the troubled look on the pigtailed girl's face, Shirou couldn't help but question, "What's wrong, Nanoha?"

"I should've noticed," she mumbled, but it was loud enough for Shirou to hear. "One of your teammates had it… I thought I was only seeing things, but… if only I've acted sooner, none of these would've…"

Before she could've finished, Shirou clamped his hands on her shoulders. "Nanoha, it's not your fault," the redhead stated, his hardened eyes boring down on hers. "You couldn't have known that a simple blue crystal held by someone our age could turn out to be a dangerous artifact from outer space." Loosening his grip slightly on the girl, he gave a sigh. "Besides, I'm to blame too. Moriyama had been bragging about finding a blue diamond-shaped lucky charm on the ground and had been carrying it around for a few days now and I didn't think it was a Jewel Seed he'd picked up."

The girl seemed to perk up slightly at Shirou's words if the wry smile was anything to go by. In her hand, the Device Mode of Raising Heart started to glow. Turning to Yuuno, she asked, "So all we need to do is find out where it started growing from, right?"

That caused the ferret to blink at the girl quizzically. "Well… yes, but…"

The girl had started to move before Yuuno had finished what he had to say. Holding up the staff, she started focusing on her current task.

**[Area Search]**

Sweeping Raising Heart in a wise arc in front of her, a magic circle unfolded underneath her. "Lyrical Magical! Search! Find where the growth has started from!" A sudden burst of mana erupted from where the girl stood, washing over the entire area.

Once again, the two males in the party couldn't help but gape at what Nanoha just did. Yuuno because he had never seen anyone use a searching spell the way the girl just did and Shirou because he didn't know a human could even release that much magic at once without hurting themselves.

"I found it!" the girl suddenly spoke up a few seconds after the spell had been casted. "I'm going to seal it now!"

"What?!" Yuuno suddenly exclaimed. "That's impossible! We're too far away!"

"Don't worry, I can reach it from here!" the girl stated confidently. Holding up her trusty staff she gave Raising Heart a smile. "Isn't that right, Raising Heart?"

The familiar chime was heard once more before the staff intoned,** [Mode Change. Cannon Mode.]**

The ring-like head of the staff shone with pink light once more before it extended into a sharp-looking two-pronged head. The head portion suddenly extended farther out and the blue piece near its head opened up, showing a trigger inside while the usual wing-like protrusions opened up once more near it. Over all, the entire thing looked more like a cannon from a mecha anime than a magical staff.

"A Sealing Cannon?!" the surprised yelp from Yuuno caught the redhead's attention.

**[Shoot in Buster Mode once target is locked.]**

Nanoha narrowed her eyes at her intended mark as her magic continued to channel into the staff. Once the system finally locked onto where she found the Jewel Seed along with its two victims, she pulled the trigger and let loose the buildup ball of mana.

The ball of magic was shot forth so hard the girl was actually thrown back by the backlash. Thankfully Shirou was there to catch her before she fell. Seeing the ball of concentrated magical blast zoom forth, the two couldn't help but watch in awe as it washed over the entire section of Nanoha's target; leaving nothing behind but a large hole about five meters in diameter.

Luckily, the concentrated blast of magic didn't seem to hurt the two victims trapped in the cocoon of amber-like material created by the Jewel Seed.

"Jewel Seed Serial X! Seal!" Another beam of pink soon followed the first's trajectory, though this one had been a lot thinner than the original blast, before connecting with the small gem within the amber.

**[Sealing. Receipt Number X.]**

A smile appeared on her face as she saw the small piece of gem entered her staff. "Thank you for your hard work, Raising Heart."

**[You're welcome,]** the staff answered before returning into its small ruby sphere form.

The sudden rise of jealous anger shot through Shirou faster than he had expected but, thankfully, he was able to force the feeling down fast enough. Now, Nanoha has a long range spell that could destroy almost anything it touches too.

Shaking his head, he gave Nanoha a pat on her shoulder. "Good job." That little compliment had gotten a girl to blush slightly before giving a muttered 'Thank you'.

Once the girl had turned around, a small frown appeared on the redheaded boy's face. _'Just how long could I support Nanoha before I am no more than a liability?'_

* * *

Unbeknown to the two children, their fathers had been standing on the roof of a nearby building. Shirō couldn't be more proud of his little girl while Kiritsugu was wondering what step they should take to avoid any potential issues in the future. Something this big should've caught the eyes of the Mage's Association, more specifically the Clock Tower or Atlas.

"So what do you think we should do?" the ex-mercenary asked, popping another cigarette into his mouth.

Shirō merely gave a shrug. "With the way things are going, the best we could do is start preparing for any future conflicts we might have with the Mage's Association, any possible demon clans or even the Demon Hunter Organization if they decide to intervene, no matter how unlikely the chance may be." Turning around to face Kiritsugu, he continued, "Even though I don't like it, Nanoha seems to be the only one capable of stopping whatever is going on."

Kiritsugu nodded. "So we let them continue in their task and only intervene if it looks like they are having problems. According to what I could get out of my kid, it seems like only specific people could use that Mystic Code your daughter is currently carrying. With the amount of prana she had been releasing, I wouldn't be surprise if more than three quarters of the magus in the world couldn't even make it cast a spell."

The two adults couldn't help but give a sigh. If any organizations even remotely related to Magecraft caught words of what is happening in their town, a potential war could erupt here. The only thing they could do was prepare for the worst and hope for the best.


	4. Chapter 4

New Chapter! Woohoo! Finished this one early so I did a quick overview of it before posting. Kinda did it halfheartedly since I was tired so I only found one mistake.

Now, I know a lot of you readers out there are more or less screaming at me to power up Shirou, so I'll leave you with this. The first peek at Shirou's power up will start next chapter. Some of you will likely have guessed what it is already when I show it but I'm not going to tell any of you full out. Don't worry, it won't be too cliche... I hope... well ok, it will be semi cliche. My mind is weak when it comes to being truly original.

[Spoiler! Spoiler!]

First blood is drawn this week! I know I said earlier that I'm keeping this story more along the lines of Nanoha's style, but I just can't help it. Besides, I know there are some of you that want me to diverge away from sticking to canon too much.

There is also some part of the story that's dealing with the minor characters. I kinda want to build up a more believable setting so sorry if part of the story doesn't have anything to do with the main cast. I'm kind of disappointed no one pointed out the Toraha Easter eggs I've included in the story. Guess no one cares about the game story with Kyōya as the main character...

Don't worry about the extra casts. They will most likely fade away like Alisa and Suzuka in the main story. I'm bad at keeping up with too many characters and I'll be working with a lot of them when I hit StrikerS, so I'll need to cut them out after the first two arcs.

[Spoiler end]

Well, there you guys and gals have it. Hope you enjoy the story. Remember to review! It might motivate me and get my creative juices pumping faster! And since I'm kinda typing this entire story on a whim, it will probably help a lot...

* * *

**Disclaimer: I have a penny, a paperclip, and a pack of chewing gum and some lint in my pocket. Is that enough to buy the rights to either series? **

* * *

_When I had took up the quest to hunt down the gem-like artifacts from outer space known as Jewel Seeds, I hadn't expected to fight off giant trees or massive kitty cats. Really, the notion that my partner and I had to take down a tree that had suddenly sprouted in the middle of the city had been mindboggling enough._

_The fact that the next Jewel Seed had pretty much been a kitty hit with a growth ray… yea, I really didn't know what to think about that one. At least it was easy to seal it off._

_What really surprised me was the fact that there was a girl around Nanoha's and my age in front of me. Sure, I had been amusing myself with the thought of a rival of some sort coming out of the woodwork during our hunt like some of the manga I've had read, but I had never thought such notions may come true._

_Now, looking up at me in absolute shock and fear was a blond girl dressed in a black sleeveless leotard, pink skirt held up by a brown belt, black thigh-high stockings under a pair of black shoes with red laces, and a pair of black gloves with a yellow metallic triangle engraved onto its back. She also had on a navy-colored cloak with maroon lining. There were also a few random red straps ran across her choice of clothing._

_Blood marred her beautiful angel-like face and blond hair held up in two long pigtails by a pair of black ribbons in contrast to Nanoha's white ones. Her weapon of choice, which was a long staff-turned-scythe, had just left a large gash across my chest._

_At that moment, I couldn't help but think, _'Is this what an angel of death looks like the first time she claims a life?'

* * *

~**That morning**~

It had started out as a normal day for the magically aware residents of Uminari. Since it was a weekend, Shirou had decided to start off the day with his usual workout. Ever since Kiritsugu had come back from his outing, he had been doing his usual morning workout while reinforcing his body to get used to the magic channeling through his body.

Before he had started this new addition of training, his body had already been a lot tougher than most children his age and even some a few years older than him. With his reinforcement, he could best most people twice his age when it comes to strength and speed.

Off to the side, Kiritsugu continued to look at the boy's current achievement in Magecraft. While he had been improving at a very fast rate, there is still a lot of work he needs to put into his study of the mystic arts. With the new threat looming over their head, his current repertoire of spells isn't going to achieve much.

"That's enough, Shirou. We will start practicing Gradation Air after breakfast," the older Emiya stated sternly. "I have a meeting to attend before noon so hurry up."

With an acknowledging nod, Shirou wiped off the sweat on his brows before following after the ex-mercenary.

* * *

"So you're going to meet Takamachi's daughter again?" Kiritsugu asked as he stood before his son at the front door.

"No, I'm just heading into town. I'm thinking about trying a new recipe tonight for dinner and we're short a few spices."

The older male couldn't help but sigh. The boy has a lot of potential in academics, but instead of focusing his intellect on school, he had instead focused it on cooking and the mystic arts. Sometimes, he really does regret telling the kid he was a magus before he had adopted the redhead.

"I'm leaving now," the boy said as he finished putting on his shoes.

"Have a safe trip."

With the customary greetings over, Kiritsugu made his way over to the living room and pulled out a few treats prepared by Shirou for his guests before the boy had left. The hardened man couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's thoughtfulness. He would've never acted so hospitable prior to adopting the redheaded child without a good conscious.

As he finished placing down the last cup for his guests, a knock was heard from the front door. Quickly making his way over, he opened the door and greeted his current visitors.

The first was a foreigner with slick backed blond short hair named Alexander Bannings. He was slightly taller than Kiritsugu, standing at 180cm. The man was wearing a light brown suit with a white dress shirt and a pair of recently shined brown leather shoes. He also had on a pair of silver-framed glasses and a silver cross hung loosely over his neck. A bible was tightly held in his right hand.

He is also an agent from the Church sent to keep an eye on the country to the Far East. An ex-member of the Burial Agency and current liaison for some demon races and the Holy Church, he currently specializes in information gathering. The man is also adept in hand-to-hand combat as well as wielding the traditional Black Keys.

Currently, he's a manager at the largest hotel in Uminari, the Hard Rock Hotel. It was the best place for gather rumors and exchanging information as well as a well-known place for members of the Church to stay at, especially those from the Burial Agency.

The second was a woman with long violet hair tied up in a ponytail named Tsukimura Ai. She was wearing a simple blue blouse under a short white jacket and a knee-length brown skirt. A pair of brown knee high boots fit snugly over her feet. If one pays close attention, they could see a brown sling holster over her left shoulder.

She's one of the leading engineers in Japan along with her husband as well as the current matriarch of the Tsukimura clan, a clan of demon hybrids with the blood of hinoenma, a succubus spirit that feeds off the blood of men, coursing through their veins.

Due to the dilution of the blood over the generations, there were actually males born with such demon's blood. This also had the effect of reducing their cravings for blood, though they do greatly enjoy meat cooked rare. They also have some inert control over wind, which they could use to form invisible blades given enough training.

While the area controlled by the clan wasn't as large as the Tohno's, they were still quite influential; especially so since they own quite a few businesses in Uminari along with a large electronic manufacturing front.

The two were followed by the familiar face of Takamachi Shirō. Instead of the suit he had worn a few days prior during his little outing with the older Emiya, he was wearing a simple brown shirt and jeans. His twin kodachi were hidden under his shirt.

"I still can't believe I'm freely walking into the home of the Magus Killer," the blond man said with a sigh. "We could always use my hotel for our meeting you know? We could even enjoy ourselves at the pool, or the bar afterwards! My bartender even told me he just came up with a new drink!"

The outburst earned him a hard smack in the back of his head by the Tsukimura clan head. "Quiet you loudmouthed oaf. I've been looking forward to this meeting for some time now." She shook her head. "I still don't understand how you're so good at gathering intelligence with that loud mouth of yours."

"You're looking forward to this meeting because you just want to eat that brat's cooking!" Alexander accused loudly before moving forward to Kiritsugu. "Are you sure that brat of yours doesn't want to work for me as a cook? With his skill in cooking as it currently is, he is going to be better than most five star cooks in the world by the time he reaches fifteen," he whispered.

Kiritsugu merely gave the larger man a deadpanned look. "He's only ten. Ask him when he is older."

"But it might be too late by then! He might be snatched up by someone else! I will not let anyone else take my favorite lasagna cook!"

Behind the man, Ai couldn't help but palm her face while Shirō gave a soft chuckle. "Before this conversation could get any more ridiculous, why don't we move to our usual spot to discuss what we actually came here to talk about," the violette said before moving toward the living with Shirou following after her. Kiritsugu could only sigh at the display before him. The two grownups acted more like children than their offspring most of the time.

* * *

After a series of events which included a plate of pastries, a gushing demon clan's matriarch, and a certain member of the Church mumbling about hypocritical women that resulted with him having his head put through the table and the living room in disarray, the four finally settled down to discuss what was on their agenda.

"The higher-ups in the Church said they will not interfere with this affair," Alexander stated as he put down his teacup. "While I wish they will send some agents to help out in securing these space rocks, it seems like they are mostly needed elsewhere at the moment. I did get a note from Memer Solomon about a possible visit in the future, but I don't know when. He also told me that we don't have to worry about any Dead Apostles, but I have no idea how he could guarantee such a thing."

"The Tohno will also be avoiding this predicament as well," Shirō was the next to offer up his report. "After I gave a general description of what we were facing, Tohno-sama said he will not interfere unless the whole problem spills into his territory." The Takamachi patriarch gave a shiver at the thought. "Let's pray we solve this incident before that happens. I don't know how many lives will be lost if Tohno-sama steps in."

Giving the ex-bodyguard a nod, Ai continued. "Our border patrol got into a skirmish with a group of six from the Yukimori clan two days ago. We managed to take them down before they could escape but we don't know if there are any others around at the time. It is possible a few scouts avoided our detection."

"So the biggest unknown we currently have is the Atlas. My informant from the Clock Tower said they didn't detect any problems from here other than a small disturbance in the leylines, but there is also an information block from the few agents they've sent out to scout out any potential problems. We might end up in a small skirmish with the scouts sent here if they decide to take matters into their own hands." The ex-mercenary took out a cigarette but it was promptly slashed into small bits courtesy of a certain demon hybrid. Seeing the disapproval look from two of his three guests, he simply sighed and continued. "So at this point, it looks like we just need to pay attention to any possible infiltrations from other demon clans unaffiliated to the Tohno and Tsukimura clans as well as some members from the Mage's Association. There could also be a chance of a Philosopher appearing in the city."

The lone female in the group nodded. "I will be setting up a tighter patrol around the city so we won't let them slip through."

"And I guess we will need to set up a few wards around the city as well then," the blond foreigner sighed. "This is going to take a lot out of my personal time with my family. Looks like I won't have much time to spend with you, Emilia, Alisa!"

The three other occupants in the room shook their head as the melodramatic man pulled a picture of his family out of his chest pocket and started weeping. "So Takamachi and I will handle the southern part of Uminari while Bannings will handle the north," Kiritsugu stated, interrupting the weeping man.

"Ehh? Why do I have to take half the city by myself?!"

"Because the north is where Tsukimura's clan is located. Their estate acts as a buffer for any possible invasion of the city from the mountains. All you need to keep an eye out on is the beach and harbor, which you have a perfect view of from your hotel," the ex-mercenary answered coolly.

Alexander stared at the man in front of him for a moment before he questioned, "When did we make you the leader?"

The three couldn't help but blink at that. Shirō and Ai shared a look at each other before they both shrugged. "I don't see a problem with that," the matriarch of the Tsukimura clan answered.

"Yea," Shirō continued, "Emiya-san most likely has experience with this anyway so we could just leave the planning to him."

Not truly convinced, the blond-haired man turned to the scruffy man. "Any proof of that?"

"Ko Chang, 1981."

The blond blinked for a few seconds, thinking about that particular information before he tapped his right fist on his left palm. "Oh, that incident. Okay, I got no problem with following your instructions this time around."

Seeing no other objection, Ai gave a small clap. "Well, since there are no more problems we have to deal with at the moment, let's call it a…"

The sound of a car screeching down the street was heard, interrupting the demon clan's matriarch before a loud slam of the Emiya resident's front door resonated throughout the house. "Tsukimura-sama! There's some unknown Bounded Field being set up near the mansion! Whoever set it up was strong enough to keep anyone not within the range of the initial casting out!" a dark-haired woman cried out in panic as she barged into the meeting.

"And why didn't you call me on my cell phone?" Ai asked, narrowing her eyes at one of her underlings.

"You forgot to charge your phone… again… Tsukimura-sama…" the woman answered.

The three males in the room palmed their face and sighed as the tech-savvy female clan head gave a sheepish "Oops?"

* * *

~**Earlier**~

By the time Shirou finished with his impromptu shopping trip, it was barely passed noon, even though he had gone quite far away from his home. Looking at the time on his watch, the young boy sighed. "Still too early. Kiritsugu-oji-san is probably still in his meeting," the boy mumbled to himself before he decided to take a quick detour through the forest. The last time he had accidentally walked in on the older Emiya's meeting, he was nearly suffocated by an over affectionate Tsukimura matriarch while the Takamichi patriarch tried to save him from said woman's cleavage.

He wondered if he should visit the Tsukimura household but decided against that as well. Nanoha was having one of her usual get-togethers with Alisa and Suzuka there and he wasn't invited; something about a girls only party that he is forbidden to attend. While he doesn't like being separated from Nanoha, especially with the current predicament hanging over their head, he had conceded to her wish of being alone with her female friends.

Well, at least Yuuno's with her. The ferret's definitely one of the best supporting allies he will ever meet with the ability to set up barriers and binding spells. At that thought, the redhead sighed again. He was being left behind by his allies.

Before the whole fiasco, he had been content with his Magecraft studies. There was no need to truly rush his training. He could've taken his time slowly honing his arts before he set out on his journey to become a hero.

A sudden burst of mana nearby shook him out of his thought, making him groan in frustration. "This is the second time a Jewel Seed has activated while I'm still carrying groceries… maybe I should just get the market to deliver them back to the house from now on?"

Shaking any stray thoughts out of his head, the redheaded boy decided to head toward the newly activated Jewel Seed, the bag of fresh produce still in his arms.

* * *

The young boy couldn't help but blink at the scene before him. He was currently staring at the newest victim of a Jewel Seed: a giant-sized tiger striped grey kitten.

With the recent events, Shirou had found himself sighing a lot more than usual. He was grateful since the kitten had been docile enough he supposed. All it did was walk around the forested area without causing any trouble. The only thing he feared was the colossal kitten being seen by someone else. He didn't want to think about the repercussion if the mundane citizens of Uminari caught sight of this massive fur ball, much less those from the magical societies.

With a tired shrug, the redhead decided to lead the cat deeper into the forest using a freshly purchased trout in his shopping bag as a lure.

"Shirou-kun? What are you doing here?" the familiar voice of his best friend sounded out above him. Looking up, he saw the familiar sight of Nanoha floating there, her barrier jacket on and Raising Heart in her hands. "I-Is that a giant kitten?"

"Perfect timing," the redhead said with a grin on his face as the kitten finally caught up to the boy and chomp down on the trout, taking his entire hand into its mouth as well. The result was a yelp from Shirou before he pulled his hand out of the feline's jaws. "Why don't we seal this up and call it a day?"

Nanoha nodded in agreement with the boy before holding out her staff. The entire situation was just too ridiculous to even think about and the faster it is solved the better it is for everyone mentally. "Raising Heart, please?"

Nodding as the Jewel Seed slowly left the giant kitty, Shirou made his way over to the girl-and-ferret pair. "So what are you doing out here? Weren't you with Alisa and Suzuka?"

Landing on the ground, Nanoha gave a sheepish laugh as she rubbed the back of her head in a manner similar to the redheaded boy. "I left them back at Suzuka-chan's house when I sensed a Jewel Seed. Yuuno acted as a reason for leaving, though I should get back as soon as possible."

Before the space gem could safely enter the red gem head of Raising Heart, a yellow beam flashed by, causing both Nanoha and Shirou to jump back.

"I'll be taking that Jewel Seed," a soft voice stated.

Shirou was surprised someone was able to sneak up on them without setting off his senses. With how much power the person was radiating, he should've felt their approach a long time ago. The only possibility of that happening was the Jewel Seed saturating the area in enough magic to hide their presence. That little hypothesis made the boy frown; just how powerful were these tiny space gems?

Pushing aside such thoughts for later, the boy quickly created a short-sword with Projection, readying himself to face any opposition. When he finally found the possible opponent, he couldn't help but drop his jaw.

Standing up on a tree branch was a blond girl dressed in a black formfitting outfit with cape, holding a polearm in her hand. Said polearm had a black rounded axe-like head with two spikes near its tip, a silver shaft with a yellow eye-like gem was fitted where it meets the axe blade along with two exhaust valves like Raising Heart. There were also a few more spikes curving up opposite to the axe head. On the other end, of the shaft was a black piece with a yellow spiked tip. "Bardiche, Photon Lancer."

Similar to Raising Heart, the Device in the newcomer's hand gave a loud ping. **[Photon Lancer,]** it intoned in a deep male's voice before a sphere of lightning appeared at its tip.

Seeing the oncoming attack, Nanoha quickly got in front of Shirou and held out her staff.

**[Protection.]**

The magic lightning ball smashed into the pink shield before it dissipated.

"Yuuno-san, set up a Temporal Force Field immediately!" Shirou cried out, getting an affirmation from the small critter before it started casting said spell. Within seconds, the entire area was shrouded by the effect of the force field, the landscape gaining a grayish tint to it.

There was no change on the girl's face as she stared down at the duo emotionlessly. "Another Intelligent Device like Bardiche," she stated monotonously.

Shirou couldn't help but feel a shiver down his spine. Even though she seemed to be an enemy, he just couldn't figure out why she looked familiar. _'Had I seen her somewhere before? No, that couldn't be right. I've never met a blond like her before.'_

Seeing the floating Lost Logia, the girl narrowed her eyes slightly. "I'm terribly sorry, but I will be claiming the Jewel Seed now." Without waiting for her opponents a chance to react, she quickly swung out Bardiche. The head of the halberd flipped up before a blade of yellow appeared, turning the poleaxe into a scythe.

Shirou couldn't help but see her as a real life angel of death, especially with her cape fluttering in the winds as she charged at the duo and ferret with her scythe. The three quickly vacated their previous location; Nanoha taking to the skies with Flier Fin, Shirou leaping back a few meters with the help of Reinforcement and Yuuno scurrying away.

**[Arc Saber]**

Without pause, the black-clad girl swung her scythe out toward the airborne Nanoha, launching the yellow blade at her.

The redhead charged at her instead of looking back at Nanoha. While he was slightly worried, he had seen the flash of pink from Raising Heart, signifying a spell being cast, most likely that Protection spell. Swinging his sword out, he was met with the downward swing of the scythe with a newly created energy blade. He had nearly gotten his left arm sliced off but wasn't deterred by that fact. Instead, he pressed on with his attack, meeting the shaft of the new girl's scythe instead of the blade.

He had a feeling he could do nothing to that blade of light with his current weapon, especially when he saw a few strands of lightning arcing out of said blade. Yes, meeting the blade head on would practically be suicidal at this point.

"Why are you attacking us?" the redhead demanded as he met his blade with the downward stroke of the scythe once more, locking the two combatants' weapons together.

"It wouldn't mean anything to you even if I answer your question," the girl before him answered. Shirou couldn't help but be enthralled by the girl's soulless eyes. A moment of realization flashed through his eyes when he finally got a good look at the girl.

Seeing the momentary distraction, the girl lashed out at the boy with a kick, disengaging from the deadlock before back flipping away from a charging Nanoha from the sky, Raising Heart in Cannon Mode. The ground cratered at the force of Nanoha's landing, causing a large cloud of dust to obscure the entire area.

"Why are you after the Jewel Seeds?" This time, it was Nanoha who questioned the blond girl. Raising Heart was currently pointing at the mysterious blond as Nanoha locked eyes with her.

**[Divine Buster. Stand by.]**

The other girl merely kept her eyes on Nanoha for a few seconds before answering, raising Bardiche as she did so. "It does not concern you. Please step away from the Jewel Seed."

**[Axe Form. Photon Lancer. Get set.]**

"Meow," the sudden mewling of the gray cat from earlier caught Nanoha's attention, diverting it away from her current opposition.

Seeing her opponent distracted, the blond girl charged up her spell. "I'm sorry," she whispered, but the apology was loud enough to be heard by Shirou. A ball of lightning soon formed in front of the black weapon.

"Nanoha! Watch out!"

The sudden outburst from her friend caused Nanoha to look back at the blond girl just in time to see the lightning ball finished charging up.

**[Fire]**

**[Protection]**

A loud boom echoed throughout the entire area as concentrated lightning met magical shield, kicking up even more dust in the process and making Nanoha choke.

**[Scythe Form]**

The youngest Takamachi didn't know what happened. One second she saw a yellow crescent blade coming down like a flash of lightning, the next she was lying on the ground looking at her best friend having his chest cut opened by her blond antagonist with a look of absolute shock on her face.

"SHIROU-KUN!"

The shout shook the blond girl out of her fear in time to dodge a Divine Buster from the white-clad girl. Steeling herself, she quickly made a beeline for the still unsealed Lost Logia before fleeing into the air with the jewel in hand.

As the girl continued her flight away from the scene of the crime, she couldn't help but sob at the event that just transpired. She didn't want to kill the boy; she was merely aiming at the girl with an Intelligent Device. She didn't even know the boy was fighting without any sort of protection other than the civilian clothes on his back and that weird ability to create a sword out of thin air.

She had told herself she would do anything to please her mother, but apparently murdering someone wasn't something she had in mind when she made that promise. Now, her hands were stained with the blood of a boy her age. Choking the bile down at the thought of the boy's blood splattering across her face, she continued her journey back to her hideout.

* * *

Ignoring the loss of the Jewel Seed, Nanoha quickly made her way over to Shirou. "Shirou-kun! Don't die! Don't die, please!" the girl yelled as she tried to block off the blood flowing out of her best friend's chest with her small hands.

Yuuno was already on her side, casting Physical Heal on the redhead. While the spell isn't effective in healing large wounds like the deep laceration across Shirou's chest, the ferret was surprised by how fast the redhead's chest is closing up. It was like the redhead had some sort of passive regenerating ability while the spell was accelerating said ability to a level he never believed possible.

"Don't worry, he won't die so easily," the voice of a gruff-sounding man interrupted the two, making them jumped and Nanoha firing off a ball of pink light in the direction of the voice. "There's no need for you to be so alert at the moment," the man stated calmly.

Nanoha stood up and spun around from her position, aimed Raising Heart at the person before she froze. Emiya Kiritsugu was standing in front of her, looking down in her direction with ice cold eyes. The girl started to sweat and felt her knees weakened underneath the scrutinizing glare from the older man before she collapsed back down to the grassy ground. Even Yuuno was trembling, clearly affected by the killing intent rolling off the older Emiya in waves.

"Take him up to Tsukimura's mansion. I'm going after the other girl." Without another word, the ex-mercenary tried to take off but was stopped by his adopted son's grip on his leg.

While the boy was still weak, he had forced himself up with sheer will alone. "No… This is… this is… part of my… responsibility… I'll get her… myself…" the boy wheezed out.

Kiritsugu, still in his Magus Killer persona, stared down at his son coldly. "There's nothing you can do. She is a danger to the mission, possibly to humanity. It is best if she is taken out of the equation as soon as…"

"I won't let you hurt her!" the boy growled out. He remembered all the tales his father had told him after he had decided to walk the path of an Ally of Justice. "She is not a threat, she is someone who needs saving as well! And I won't rest till I save her!"

Looking at the determined look on his kid's face, Kiritsugu couldn't help but sigh. With Shirou's interruption, the girl had gotten far enough for him to follow. That stubbornness was most likely going to get the boy killed one day, but he was slightly proud of the way the kid stood up to his coldhearted persona.

With a grunt, the older Emiya turned his back toward the two children and ferret. "Since you're looking alright now, let's go back home."

As the man slowly walked away, Nanoha and Yuuno released a breath they didn't know they were holding in. She couldn't help but look at the bloodied boy with a wry smile while Yuuno couldn't help but shake his head at the redhead's prior proclamation. The idiot had just been viciously attacked by a deadly opponent and he had decided to save her instead of taking revenge. Shirou truly is a kindhearted fool, but a fool nonetheless.

Moving weakly toward the redhead, Nanoha whispered to him, "Are you sure we can save that girl?"

Shirou couldn't help but sigh at that question. He must've been out of his mind when he stood up to his father for a girl who had just carved his chest open only a few minutes ago. "I sure hope we can," was all he could answer.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry about the delayed update this week guys, but my free time for writing this story got jumbled up due to studying for my Forex license, running errands between China and Hong Kong, finally deciding to watch all the new Railgun episodes released for this season so far, a light novel called Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance, and a four-year-old living next door that cries every single damn night, making me lose sleep and killing my muse! I think I should avoid having a kid of my own.

I know I promised the power up for Shirou in this chapter, but I kinda got lost when I was typing and overextended the length cap I placed per chapter... So... no power up preview till next chapter.

There are quite a few of you out there who are getting upset about the difference strength between Nanoha characters and Shirou, but I guess I should point this out for now. At the moment, Shirou is like a Belkan Knight with gimped gear. He would dominate Nanoha and Fate if they rely only on close-range combat. To fit him into the Nanoha-verse, I only need to give him flight, a barrier jacket, and a wide-area/long-range attack and he would be on par with everyone else, and we all know he already have one of the three in F/sn. I won't spoil what I would give him at the moment. You will have to see next chapter for a glimpse of it.

[Spoiler]

Yes, as most of you guessed it, this chapter will be Shirou and Nanoha finally confronting the issue of Shirou's usefulness in the mission, and drama ensured. This chapter will deal more heavily on Nanoha and a side character's side instead of focusing on Shirou. I have to keep the characters relevant after all.

I'm juggling the timeline of Nanoha a bit so I could fit my story more, hence the short break between the first Fate meeting and the trip. I'm also going to show Yuuno as more of a support in this story as well. Seriously, he had fought head on against Vita in the series without a Device and held his ground! That's got to say something about his combat ability, but the series never did expand on that.

[Spoiler end]

Well, as usual, read, enjoy, and please review more. I need some help reviving my lost muse due to my lack of sleep and a few critics and word of encouragement would be greatly appreciated. Grammar Nazis are welcomed. All flames will be given to Kotomine for making mapo tofu. It's mouth numbingly delicious!

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't even have enough money to buy a Shirou or Nanoha Nendoroid... TT^TT**

* * *

"Are you sure you should be moving around, Shirou-kun?" asked a certain pigtailed girl. It had barely been two days since they've met the blond girl in black; two days since Shirou had his chest slice opened by a magically powered blade of lightning. After the incident, Nanoha had decided to stay closer to her best friend closer than ever, trying to help him out whenever she could.

"I'm fine, Nanoha," the boy answered with a shrug. Currently, the two were in the Emiya's home; Shirou was preparing lunch while Nanoha was waiting for him in the dining room. Placing the final piece of grilled mackerel on the serving plate, the boy looked at the neatly placed food and nodded approvingly. "Done! Jii-san, lunch time!"

Nanoha couldn't help but shake her head at the redhead. She had no idea how he could turn a basic meal of grilled fish, rice sprinkled with powdered plum, pickled radish and miso soup into a masterpiece of delicious flavors one could only get at a five star restaurant, but she certain isn't going to complain.

With the table set and the arrival of Kiritsugu, the trio gave a quick 'itadakimasu' before eating. Well, Shirou and Kiritsugu were eating. Nanoha was practically trying to inhale her food.

"I wonder what Yuuno would say if he sees you eating like this, Nanoha," the redhead spoke up after he took a sip of his miso soup. Reaching over to the girl, he picked off the grain of rice stuck to her face and ate it. "You really should be more mindful of the way you eat."

Kiritsugu's lips gave an upward tug behind his bowl of miso soup when he saw the young girl blushed at his adopted son's action. If it weren't for all those nights he tried to educate Irisviel with the use of movies, which included a lot of Japanese drama shows, before the start of the Forth Holy Grail War, he would've most likely missed the small telltale signs of the preadolescent girl's fondness for Shirou. Hopefully Shirō wouldn't overreact if he ever catches wind of this. Those twin blades of his had carved a bloody trail through an entire demon encampment once.

Then again, if the ex-mercenary ever hears about Illyasviel trying to date a boy, he would most likely pay the unfortunate fool a visit armed to the teeth. Nothing like using a few crateful of plastic explosives to test how worthy a boy truly is of dating one's daughter.

After finishing up the perfectly prepared lunch and the customary 'Gochisousama-deshita', Kiritsugu decided to clean the dishes.

"So, what are we going to do today?" Shirou asked as he leaned back on his chair. "Going to hunt for more Jewel Seeds?"

The topic caused Nanoha to fidget in her seat slightly. "Ano… Shirou-kun, don't you think it might be too… unsafe… for you to hunt for the Jewel Seeds?"

"Of course it is unsafe," the boy answered without a second thought. "That's why I'm going to continue searching for them and have you sealed it before anyone else could get hurt. Besides, with that new girl, who knows what she might be using them for? Maybe some evil mastermind is making her collect them using a loved one as a hostage?"

Nanoha palmed her face at the crazy theory from her friend. "Shirou-kun, that sounds like something from a manga… I don't think that's the case here. Besides, don't you think you should… stop?"

The redhead frowned. "What do you mean 'stop'?"

"Shirou-kun, you nearly died when we first met that girl! It is likely she will be appearing wherever there is a Jewel Seed activating from now on! The next time, she might actually kill you, accidentally or not!" his childhood friend yelled, tears swelling up in her eyes.

"And you could handle her?!" the redhead yelled back in anger. "I've been learning magic for longer than you! What makes you more qualify for this than me?!"

"I have a Barrier Jacket and Raising Heart protecting me! You don't! The spells might hurt me, but the Barrier Jacket could protect me from most of the attacks! I can also make shields to block her attacks! You don't have any of that! You just have your swords!" When the pigtailed girl realized what she had just said, it was already too late.

Shirou had narrowed his eyes at his best friend for three years. His anger at his own uselessness and jealousy at Nanoha's unnaturally fast improvement in the mystic arts had finally boiled over. "Fine then. From now on, you can go search for those Jewel Seeds by yourself. I'll be leaving," the redhead growled out before stomping out of his house without the customary 'I'm leaving'.

"Just leave the boy alone for now," the gruff sound of Kiritsugu shook the girl out of her shock.

The older Emiya had finished the dishes earlier and had simply been observing the two children's interaction. He was slightly disappointed by Shirou's sudden outburst, but he couldn't blame the kid. "His anger just got the better of him. Give him some time and he will be back to normal."

"Did I do the right thing, Emiya-oji-san?"

Looking down at the girl, he could see she was trembling from trying to hold her tears in. "You did, Nanoha," the man told her, placing his large hand on the girl's head.

At that point, Nanoha had broken down crying.

* * *

"Damn Nanoha… just because she has that talking red gem, she thinks she understands what's good for me…" the redhead grumbled as he collapsed down on a park bench. He had been walking around aimlessly for a few hours now, simply skulking and mumbling to himself. Looking at the time, he couldn't help but sigh. "She must be with Alisa and Suzuka on that hot spring trip now…"

After the debacle with the blonde scythe-wielder, Kiritsugu had forbid him from the trip and had him help out at the Takamichi's café for a day as punishment. He was not allowed into the kitchen of said café either, which made him grumble unhappily. Not only had the boy been reckless, he had stopped the older Emiya from eliminating a possible threat. That decision was just another element added into the growing frustration the boy had been building up since the beginning of the Jewel Seed hunt.

"Ah, Shirou-han, what are ya doin' here?"

Shirou blinked before giving a short chuckle. "It's nice to see you out here, Hayate," the boy greeted. He was quite thankful that his usual bi-weekly shopping trips with Hayate had not once been interrupted by a Jewel Seed. The girl had been a great way to vent some of his frustration on when he talked to her. "Just trying to cool my head out here," the redhead decided to answer the girl's question.

"What happened," the girl asked as she wheeled herself a little closer.

Hearing the worried tone of the crippled girl, Shirou couldn't help but gave a small smile. Truly, this girl worries about him just about as much as Nanoha does. For a moment, Shirou wondered what it would be like if Hayate had been his partner in this whole Jewel Seed debacle, but brushed it off. He might be at odds with his oldest friend, but she is still his partner first and foremost.

"I got into a little disagreement with a friend recently," Shirou offered as he continued to push Hayate's wheelchair. He was heading to the nearby café they often visit after their shopping trip for a drink, or in Hayate's case, a parfait.

"What sort of disagreement?" the girl questioned. She had never seen Shirou behaved this way before and seeing how helpful the boy had been to her over the past few months, she decided to return the favor.

"Nanoha and I got into a fight recently about something we were trying to do. I wanted to help her out but I kind of got hurt in the process…" the boy answered sheepishly. "She told me she would handle the rest of the problem by herself but I refused. After that, it sort of devolved into a shouting match, hurtful things were mentioned, and I stormed out of my house on her… Besides, she shouldn't have said what she did! Just because she has a better way of solving something doesn't mean she could dictate what I can or can't do!"

As Shirou continued ranting, Hayate's face began to darken significantly. She had thought the problem he had was with a fellow male student in class, not another girl. The way he had said the girl's name so fondly also made her jealous. The feeling was shaken off before it could take hold of her though. She was too young to be thinking these unsavory thoughts about other girls hanging around her Shirou-han. At that point, she decided to blame Lotte for leaving those Josei manga lying on her living room table. _'Maybe I should try reading that other manga Lotte's been into lately… To Love-something…'_

Shirou gave a short pause in his rant at that moment and felt a shiver run up his spine. Something in the back of his mind was telling him to run away from Uminari City as fast as possible.

* * *

"You've always look forward to these trips, so why are you so depressed all of a sudden?" Suzuka asked. Currently the girls were on a car ride up to a hot spring resort in the city around the mountainous area for their Golden Week vacation.

After the quick lunch at the Emiya's home, Nanoha had met up with her family for the trip. The Takamachi patriarch couldn't help but frown at his youngest children's attitude, but there was no helping it. From what he was told by the older Emiya, Nanoha had just told the young Shirou to stop assisting in their hunt for that weird artifact from space. He understood the boy's sudden cold outburst at his daughter, but it didn't mean he hadn't had half a mind to go show the boy why it is bad to upset the daughter of an ex-bodyguard of a demon clan's head.

"Probably because that idiot got in trouble with his dad and couldn't come," Alisa decided to answer. Hearing another sigh, the most outspoken girl of the trio gave the pigtailed girl a bop on the head. "Nanoha, would you stop sighing?"

"Sorry," Nanoha said while rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"Listen, I know your boyfriend couldn't come because he did something stupid and got in trouble with his old man, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy the trip!" Alisa declared, gaining an affirmative nod from Suzuka next to her.

"I guess you're ri… Wait, BOYFRIEND?!"

If it weren't for the years of learning how to control one's emotion, Takamachi Shirō might have lost control of the car for a moment there. That sudden outburst did leave him with a twitching eyebrow though, which had caused his wife, Momoko, to hide a giggle behind her hand.

"Shirou-kun is not my boyfriend!" the youngest Takamachi cried out in denial. Sure, she had entertained the idea before, but she doubt the oblivious redhead would ever think of her as more than a friend.

"Anyone with eyes knows you're infuriated with that idiot, Nanoha. The only one blind enough not to see it is the idiot himself. I still don't know what you see in him though," Alisa said as she shook her head. Yuuno, who was sitting in Suzuka's lap, was nodding in agreement with her.

Truth be told, it wasn't hard to like the redhead. He was quite smart even though he sleeps in his class most of the time, athletic, and helpful to a fault. Though that ignorance to how others, mainly girls, felt about him was the reason why he wasn't too popular. "Just forget about him for the rest of the trip and enjoy yourself, Nanoha."

"Shirou-san wouldn't want you to be depressed during the vacation anyway. Why don't you enjoy it for his sake as well?" Suzuka decided to add in her thoughts.

Nanoha couldn't help but give her friends a smile. The two girls might have opposite personalities, but they sure do know how to work together in tandem, especially when it comes to cheering her up. In the end, however, the girl decided to settle for pouting at the duo. "Shirou-kun is not my boyfriend."

"Yet," the two added with glee, causing Nanoha to go into another bout of denial.

Up in front of the car, Takamachi Shirō continued grinding his teeth together with a dark aura surrounding him. He vowed to make sure the student of his son knows his place, relations to the Magus Killer be damned.

"Dear, your killing intent is showing," his wife commented as she continued to giggle while she took a picture of her husband's face with her phone. She hoped Ai would appreciate the picture.

* * *

"Thank you for saving me from joining Nanoha in the female changing room. I don't think I could survive an experience like that," the ferret said as he sat atop the in the changing room. He was currently with the ex-bodyguard while Kyōya had gone ahead into the bathing area.

"Like I would let you go into the changing room where my niece and daughter are," the older male gave Yuuno a bop on his head.

The previous day, when Shirou was led home by Nanoha after Kiritsugu's appearance, the small critter was abducted by the three other members responsible for keeping Uminari safe from the planet's magical residents. After that, they had proceeded to grill any and all relevant information from the ten-year-old-boy-in-ferret-form. Let's just say the Takamachi patriarch did not appreciate the fact that an unknown boy her daughter's age had been sharing a room with her for the past month or so. At least the young Shirou is tolerable, seeing as the redhead was quite dimwitted when it comes to female attractions.

The thought of his discussion with Yuuno a day ago did little to settle his mind.

* * *

_~Flashback~_

"_So you're telling me my daughter, Nanoha, is the only person who could use that 'Device', Raising Heart, to seal these 'Jewel Seeds', which are tiny little gem-like artifacts capable of destroying a planet if it falls into the wrong hands?"_

"_Yes," Yuuno answered as he nodded hastily. Currently he was back in his human body, sitting in front of the group of three in fear. "Raising Heart is now registered to Nanoha. The device is quite picky when it comes to choosing a user and she somehow fits its criteria. The only reason I could think of is due to the capacity of her Linker Core. The device drains quite a lot of mana even if it is on standby."_

_Standing in front of him was the parents of the three females he had the most contact with on this planet. He wondered what divine entity out in the universe he had angered to be on the receiving end of three powerful parents._

_And why didn't anyone in the Time Space Administration Bureau make contact with the inhabitants of this planet! These people were far more powerful than he had previously believed, especially after Shirō had bisected a red pine tree down the middle with a mere flick of his short sword, and he was apparently the second weakest of the entire group due to the injuries he received before he retired from his old job._

"_Must be hard on you, Takamachi," the large man next to Nanoha's father spoke up. "Your daughter is the only person capable of stopping those world-ending gems, and apparently she has a rival with an unknown agenda on the task."_

"_And I thought my daughter befriending the son of the Magus Killer was the worst possible event I might face in my life…" Shirō mumbled._

_Behind him, the two other parents just shook their head. If what their respective daughters said is true, then Shirō might actually have the son of the Magus Killer as his daughter's boyfriend. The only thing they hoped was to be with the man when he finally hears the news. The look on the ever smiling Takamichi Shirō's face when he hears her daughter had a crush would be priceless._

"_So technically, we have a prana-draining mystic code bonded to your daughter that could fire off concentrated beams of energy on par with the 'Blue' if used without caution, space gems better off sealed up inside Atlas on the loose within Uminari, possible hostiles from outside of the city discovering these gems of doom, and we might actually meet some form of militia from space that handles such items?" Alexander asked._

_Ai nodded at the man. "That sounded like an apt summary of what was stated I believe."_

_The member of the Holy Church couldn't help but sigh tiredly. "What the hell happened to the good old days when we only have to worry about possible Dead Apostles, hostile demon clans and possible passing by Philosophers trying to turn the city into their workshops? Those days sounds a lot safer right now."_

_Shirō nodded in agreement. The fact that they couldn't solve this incident themselves and had to rely on a preadolescent girl was frustrating. At least they could handle those elements Alex had stated if it ever arises. "Let's just hope that this 'Bureau' arrives before the Clock Tower receives any words."_

"_And hopefully they are as friendly as Yuuno-kun tells us," Ai added._

* * *

The elder Takamachi male sighed tiredly as he submerged himself into the spring. He still remembered when he had to break the news to Momoko about the current crisis and his possible involvement. To say that his wife was angry was an understatement. He was just lucky he didn't have to sleep in the living room after that little revelation.

"_You should relax more, Yuuno-kun. We are on a vacation after all," _the ex-bodyguard said through the mental link he had established with the boy-in-ferret-form. It was quite amusing to see it freeze in fear simply by being in his presence. Maybe they overdid it on the scare tactic?

"_Sorry, it's just… there's a lot on my mind lately," _the transformed boy answered. _"The appearance of someone else who doesn't seem to be associated to the Bureau trying to collect the Jewel Seeds is very troubling. It's my fault Nanoha had a falling out with Shirou as well…"_

The ferret received a light bop on his head for that. _"Don't worry about it. Shirou-kun needs to learn that sometimes, the best way of helping someone out is to simply stay out of their way."_

"_From the short time I've come to know him, I don't think that will happen any time soon,"_ the ferret stated.

That got a smile from Nanoha's father. _"I guess you're right, Yuuno-kun."_

* * *

Finishing up with their bath, Yuuno and Shirō decided to look for the girls. When they finally found the trio, they were surprised by the orange-haired woman. The ex-bodyguard immediately realized something was not normal about her, but refrained from stating anything. Seeing his daughter suddenly stiffened her posture sure answered his question to an extent.

Giving the ferret perched on his shoulder a tap on its head, he gestured toward the girls, prompting it to scurry over. The ex-bodyguard straightened his shoulder when the stranger passed next to him. "So I'm guessing you're either in league with the young lady that attacked my daughter and my friend's son a day ago or you're from a new faction?" the adult male whisper under his breath.

While normal humans couldn't pick up the low voice, the lady in front of him apparently did. _"Oh? And why do you think that?"_

Shirō merely chuckled disarmingly at her. _"First off, you wouldn't come in contact with my daughter the way you just did if it wasn't something about what she had been trying to do behind my back for the past month or so. Second, you don't feel like us 'Earthlings'," _the man answered as he continued his slow gait down the hall.

"_Oh? And what will you do about it?"_ the woman questioned with a raised brow.

"_Nothing for the moment. I wouldn't mind Nanoha getting into a scuffle with that other young lady, but do avoid any permanent damage done to the person please," _he answered with a shrug. While the owner of Midori-ya did not consult those he was currently working with about this, he felt the blond girl might be a good way of showing her daughter how the magi from space act. She doesn't seem like a born killer like some of the other magi he had the displeasure of meeting in the past from what the younger Emiya stated, so he hoped this would be a good way of teaching his youngest how to handle any more possible opponents in the future, especially since that red gem mystic code was officially bounded to her.

"_And what if we don't?"_

"_This city is currently our territory, miss. The only thing keeping the girl that nearly killed Shirou-kun alive yesterday was because the kid actually stopped his father from pursuing her. He was given the moniker Magus Killer for his creative ways of taking down magic users. We also have an entire private militia standing guard, and this resort you're currently spending your time in is owned by the head of said militia."_

The frozen posture of the woman that he caught as he turned at a corner made him chuckle. He was glad Nanoha had already left the vicinity in a hurry to get away from the woman. There was no way he could keep his past hidden from his daughter if she sees him now. The ability to intimidate one's opponent had always been one of his jobs while working for the Tohno.

While what he said might have been slightly over exaggerated, he wasn't lying about the resort being owned by the head of a private militia, given if one viewed the Tsukimura clan as such.

The woman narrowed her eyes in the man's direction. _"And why do you not handle this case on your own then? Why send two children and a ferret to do the job your little army should?"_

"_That's because none of us have any clue what to do with those things. We don't have a way to seal them, and I doubt there's a way to destroy them even if we try. Those things are filled with so much magical energy that we would level the entire city if we even break one. We don't want Shirou-kun to be there with Nanoha, but he is the best morale support for my daughter, so the best we could do is help keep them safe from the shadows. I do try to take good care of all my children the best way I can no matter what and regardless of their blood." _The woman could practically feel the man giving a mental shrug at that point. _"How about this, since you're here and that little lady is probably somewhere around as well, why not a little wager? Have her challenge Nanoha to a fight. Loser relinquishes one Jewel Seed to the winner. I'll even call off the possible pursuers if needed."_

"_And what would you gain from this losing bet?"_

"_My daughter's safety," _was the man's simple answer. While he knew the threat of handing over one of these dangerous items to an unknown, he wasn't about to risk Nanoha's life for them no matter what Kiritsugu might believe.

The woman clicked her tongue in annoyance before continuing her way to the hot spring. She couldn't help but frown on the way there. _'Why couldn't Fate mother be more like that man just now?'_

* * *

"_And that's what that man said," _the woman stated as she finished her reconnaissance report to the blond girl. Despite the earlier warning about the resort being owned by their apparent enemy, she had decided to relax as much as possible in the springs_. "So are you going to agree to that man's bet, Fate?"_

There was a short pause before an answer arrived via the mental link. _"It is agreeable, Arf. We should avoid any conflicts with the locals as much as possible. Hopefully, he would keep his end of the bargain."_

"_We'll just set up some contingencies in case it is a lie then," she suggested. "So, any luck with the Jewel Seed?"_

"_I have its general direction. It is only a matter of time before I could pinpoint it," _Fate answered._ "We will move to capture it tonight. Enjoy yourself until the evening."_

"_Roger that, Fate," _Arf answered before completely submerging herself under the hot spring, a pair of dog ears flipping out on the side of her head.

* * *

"Is that really a good idea?" Momoko asked as she joined Shirō on his walk toward the nearby pond.

"Who knows," Shirō answered with a shrug. "It is the only think I can do to keep Nanoha safe at the moment."

"And you just have to go out there and paint a target on your back?" his wife sighed. "What if they had acted more hostile? You don't even have your weapons with you, and from what you've said before, the she might be on par with the Blue when it comes to her spells. Couldn't you just leave that live behind already?"

"Sorry," the man responded. "I'm just doing this to protect our daughter and the life we've finally established after all the hardships we've faced."

"Any way I can help?"

Hearing the pleading voice of his wife, Shirō couldn't help but smile. "It is better if you stay out of this conflict for the time being, Oni Giri no Momo-san."

That earned a slap to his chest from his pouting wife. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?!"

"Hai, hai, Asakami-sama," was Shirō's response as he chuckled. This time, it was an invisible hand that collided with his chest, courtesy of his annoyed wife.

* * *

"So what's a Jewel Seed I see," the orange-haired woman, Arf, said as she looked at the bright ray of light shining out of the river in front of her. "That thing sure packs a lot of power. Why does your mother want them so badly again, Fate?"

The blond girl next to her merely shrugged. "It does not matter. I must collect them because my mother wants them. That is all the reason I need."

Arf couldn't help but frown at the girl. That blind devotion Fate shows to that woman was something that she had had always hated. To Arf, that woman doesn't even deserve to be called Fate's mother, but she refrained from speaking out loud.

"Bardiche, wake up."

**[Yes, sir]**

Arf sighed as she looked at her partner. "Well, time to get to work then."

* * *

"I think Shirou-kun is right when he said these Jewel Seeds like to pick the worst times to activate for us," Nanoha grumbled as she rubbed her eyes tiredly with Yuuno perched on her shoulder. Currently, she was heading toward the place where another one of the Lost Logia had started acting up with her Barrier Jacket on and Raising Heart in Device Mode.

A bluish light sudden shot up into the sky from a nearby river made the girl increase her speed, but it was already too late. Jewel Seed had already been sealed.

"So you've finally arrived," the emotionless voice of the blond girl was barely heard as the duo arrived. She too had her Barrier Jacket and Device on. Turning to face her rival, she was met with a glare from both the ferret and the girl.

"I don't know what you want to do with the Jewel Seeds, but from what Yuuno-kun said, they are dangerous. Just tell us what you truly wish to do with them. If it doesn't endanger anyone, maybe we could help each other out," the pigtailed girl stated as she kept Raising Heart pointed at her opponent.

"You said you wish to help, yet you keep your weapon pointed at me. Is that not contradictory?" the girl retorted, though there was still no sign of emotion from her.

For a moment, Nanoha wondered if she was talking to a robot. "Sorry if I'm a bit cautious," she replied, "but after what you did to Shirou-kun, I am not going to drop my guard around you any time soon."

There was a short pause before the blonde nodded. "Understandable. Is he alright?"

If it weren't for the fact that Nanoha had been staring at the girl so intensely, since she had arrived she would've missed the sudden flash of worry on the girl's face. "He's fine; currently being punished because he held off Emiya-oji-san from chasing after you."

The blond girl's posture seemed to relax slightly at the news. "That's reassuring to hear."

Off to the side, Yuuno couldn't help but point out the awkward scene in front of him. "How did we go from preparing for a fight to talking about a boy? Is this something about girls that elder said I would never understand?"

"I don't think that could apply to this turn of event," a voice suddenly interrupted the ferret. "But it does make me curious. Fate never did talk about someone else like this. Is there something going on that I don't know about?"

"Ohh, the blond girl left a deep slash on one of my friends yesterday before she took the Jewel Seed Nanoha sealed. I don't know why Shirou is so adamant at defending her though… WAIT!" Turning around, the small critter met the inquisitive face of the orange-haired woman from earlier. She was wearing a pink low-cut crop top, magenta shorts and a two piece coat similar to a certain Counter Guardian.

"Ahh, so that's why she had blood on her face yesterday. That boy must have been quite lucky to have survived that." Turning to the ferret, the person gave him a predatory smirk. "By the way, my name's Arf. I will be your opponent today."

Yuuno's eyes widened when the woman in front of him started morphing; her eyes became silted and he long hair started growing longer at an absurd rate. Claws soon took place of fingers as hair started sprouting throughout her body, tearing her clothes to shreds. By the end of the transformation, a large orange wolf stood in place of the attractive female as she growled menacingly at her prey.

"A familiar!" the talking ferret gasped at the being in front of him.

"Yes, and I will be your opponent for tonight!"

Right as the wolf widened its jaws at Yuuno, a magic barrier sprung forth, completely stopping its advance. The ferret was looking between his self-proclaimed opponent and the girl in front of Nanoha. Giving his own menacing growl, which made him look more adorable than threatening, Yuuno decided to voice his question. "What does a mage powerful enough to have a familiar as strong as you want with the Jewel Seeds?"

"It doesn't matter why we want it," the wolf girl retorted. "Now, if you don't focus, I'll tear right through this barrier of yours and focus on that girl with you!"

"Tch…" Yuuno clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Guess it can't be helped. Nanoha! Keep the other girl busy while I try and take care of her familiar!"

"Big talk for a little rodent!" Arf yelled as she dug her claws into the barrier. Little by little, the green force field around the ferret was cracking.

"I guess there's no other choice then. Chain Bind!" A green magic circle lit up underneath Arf before green chains erupted from the ground, tying the wolf down.

The small critter then took a high leap up into the air before coming down at her at subsonic speed with a newly casted Sphere Protection. The result was Yuuno sending them both shooting off into the woods, causing the wolf girl to let out a painful yelp.

The two girls off to the side couldn't help but be in awe at what the presumably weak animal had done. "I never knew Yuuno-kun was that strong…" Nanoha whispered, breaking the awkward silence the two shared at the surprising event.

"You do not know your familiar's capabilities?" the blonde asked. While she did not appear so, she was quite amused at the other girl. There's no doubt about her current rival being a novice.

"Yuuno-kun is a close friend, not a familiar," Nanoha retorted.

"I see," the blonde nodded. "Enough of these idle conversations. Since we are both after the same thing, why don't we have a little duel? One Jewel Seed from each of us will be put on the line."

Nanoha frowned at the declaration, but nodded in agreement anyway. "If words can't convince you, then I will simply have to use force. Prepare yourself!"

Four small pink orbs formed around the girl in white before they were fired toward the blonde.

The black-clad girl's eyes widened at the sudden attack but steeled her nerves. There was no way she could lose in this duel. Casting Blitz Action, she quickly got behind Nanoha with Bardiche in Scythe Mode, swinging down at her as fast as possible. Even if the blow is fatal, the Barrier Jacket would've stopped the attack from actually harming its user. Surprisingly, the girl ducked in time for the lightning blade to pass above her head.

Seeing as her first attack missed, the girl took another swing after she spun around, aiming lower this time.

**[Flier Fin]**

Nanoha leapt off the ground as the second attack from the blonde passed through where she stood. Switching Raising Heart into Cannon Mode, she took aim at her opponent and let loose her concentrated ball of mana. "Divine Buster!"

**[Thunder Smasher]** the blonde's Device declared as she fired off a beam of yellow lightning. Both attacks clashed head on as their caster stared each other down.

Deciding on ending the fight, Nanoha forced more magic into the attack, overpowering her opponent's attack by a vast margin. When the beam finally died down, Nanoha was already breathing heavily, having tiring herself out in a full force attack.

"Nanoha! Behind you!" Yuuno yelled out, but it was too late.

Before Nanoha's attack could reach the blonde, she had increased her speed once again to escape and get behind her opponent. There was no time for the other girl to react in time as a binding spell locked her arms in place and the black Device in Scythe Mode was placed right next to her neck.

The white-clad girl couldn't believe it. Her opponent was a lot faster than what she had predicted and she apparently has a lot more combat experience. While she wanted to continue the fight, she knew it was useless to stand up to such an opponent at this time. She needed a wider variety of spells before she could even think of facing her opponent again.

**[Pull out]**

The voice of Raising Heart shook Nanoha away from her thoughts. She had forgotten about the term of the duel for a moment there. "No!" she cried out when she spotted the Jewel Seed leaving her staff. It was labeled XXI; the first Jewel Seed she had encountered with Shirou. It was the only Jewel Seed the boy had managed to take down.

Seeing the Jewel Seed land on her outstretched hand, the blonde turned her back toward Nanoha. "Do not appear before us again. I cannot promise to hold back as much as I do today if you do not heed my warning."

Nanoha stared at her opponent rebelliously, tears trailing down her face as she gritted her teeth. "At least give me your name," was all she could manage to say.

There was a short pause before the girl replied, "Fate Testarossa." Before Nanoha could say another word, Fate took off into the sky followed by Arf.

"Next time we meet again, I will pay you back for what you did to me, boy!"

While Nanoha continued to glare in the direction Fate and her familiar disappeared into, Yuuno couldn't help but sigh. "How was I supposed to know she was sensitive there? Maybe I should use Ring Bind for any sentient beings I face from how on…"

* * *

"…And she said her name was Fate Testarossa. Are you sure we shouldn't pursuit, sir?" a voice from the shadow asked as Shirō stood before the clear lake. The man was currently gazing at the starry sky.

"Yes," he replied. "They would most likely be prepared for any of our hunters. It is better to keep our words this time so they might drop their guard when we decide to take them down. Please share with the others what you've found out from the girl and her familiar."

"That's unusual of you, Takamachi-sama. Since when had you become so cynical?" a different voice echoed throughout the woods behind Shirō.

The man merely sighed. "Since my daughter's safety, and apparently the entire world as well, is on the line. That and I think I might be hanging around Kiri too much these days. So, what did the others say about this, Tsukimura-sama?"

"Fu fu. There's no need to be so formal with me, Shirō-san," Ai answered as she walked out of the shadow. A soft rustle behind her signaled her scout's departure, leaving the two alone in the clearing. Joining the ex-bodyguard, the demon clan matriarch decided to answer Shirō's inquiry. "Kiritsugu-san is not happy with your decision." That earned a snort from Shirō. "However, Alex understands your course of action. We simply ask you to inform us in advance next time you decide to pull a stunt like this."

"Understandable, but I sincerely doubt there will be a next time," was Shirō's response. "What of those problems around the border?"

"We've encountered those scouts from the Clock Tower recently, but they were able to escape. Those fools are currently hiding in the city. I wouldn't put it past them if they try to acquire one of those Jewel Seeds next time one activates."

"Any plans of what we should do with them?"

"Just leave them be. We will simply try and keep them away from ground zero, but if they become a hazard, we will not hesitate to kill them."

Shirō nodded in agreement. Letting news out about these gems would simply bring in more problems. Whoever was covering up the information in London must have some sort of agenda of their own but the man couldn't help but be grateful about it.

Thinking about the Jewel Seeds, Shirō couldn't help but frown. Why would the blond girl's mother send her out to collect these items of great power? Judging from how the scout had described the Arf woman/familiar, there was definitely something wrong between them. "So the mastermind behind this entire thing is caused by that girl's mother. What kind of mother would order their kids to go on a dangerous mission like?"

"Who knows," Ai shrugged tiredly. "We can only wait and hope for the best."

"And plan for the worst," Shirō concluded.


	6. Chapter 6

Welcome one and all to the newest chapter of Mahou Senki: Limitless Blades! This chapter has been both a pain and great fun for me to write. It finally allowed my imagination to run a bit wilder than usual but the part where I have to put them into words had been tiring.

I know a few of you had been confused by the whole "E. Shirou and T. Shirou" thing, so I went back and fixed it for all of ya! Now T. Shirou will be referred to as Shirō. Sorry for confusing you readers. Device dialogues will also be changed to bold since I don't want to mix that up with the radio dialogues.

I also got a complain about the adult's screen time. Well, they are there to fill in a few plot holes. I have to have some way of explaining what is happening in the background as well since we have the whole Nasu-verse thing included into this fic. It's not likely that the Mage's Association or the Church wouldn't look into the whole JS issue seeing how powerful they are. There are also the demon clans around Japan.

There's also the rant of comparing Nanoha to the Blue. When I said Nanoha's spells are equal to Aoko in terms of destructibility, I was comparing their prowess as a 'Human Missile Launcher'. Rumors about Aoko blowing up a mountain? *Looks at Nanoha's Starlight Breaker* Starmine and Starbow with High-Speed Aria and Unlimited Rotation? *Looks at Divine Shooter and Divine Buster* I'm not saying Nanoha is the Blue. Nanoha don't have the ability to manipulate time with the Fifth and she can't sling spells like Aoko without Raising Heart, but with a Device, she is definitely equal or at least close to Aoko in terms of fire power. Aoko with a Device of her own though... She would be considered the SSS class in Nanoha-verse right up there with Zelretch.

As for the Lost Logia... well, there was only one in the Nanoha-verse that wasn't world-ending dangerous I think... Other than that though...

Jewel Seeds: Supposedly capable to rip a hole in dimension through sheer power  
Book of Darkness: Look at what it created for a Defense Program  
Relic: Similar to Jewel Seeds  
Saint's Cradle: Massive space battleship with weapons from firearms to nuclear weapons of mass destruction  
Bible of Silver Cross: ...well doubt some of you have gotten to the manga story yet so I won't spoil it here.

I've also starting the corruption of Hayate 'Harem Master' Yagami in the last chapter. Be afraid, Shirou, be very afraid! *Cackle*

I might do a 'How Shirō met Momoko' story but not until after I finish this arc.

Well... can't think of much else to say here, so without further adieu...

[Spoiler!]

Okay guys, this is the major turning point for Shirou in terms of power. Unfortunately, it isn't going to be stable until A's arc. I will put a list of what Shirou used at the end of the chapter so you don't have to guess what he traced.

The thing with Kiri... I'm still debating whether I should just kill him off or let him stay as a side character. I kinda feel sorry for the guy for not even having a chance to see Ilya before he died...

If you are wondering about Shirou's real family, I'm basing him on Kirihara Sōma, the main character of Shokugeki no Sōma. Seriously, that guy looks exactly like Shirou if our redheaded sword wielder has a scar through his left eyebrow. Check out that manga, it's awesome!

Don't worry about the empty wasteland either. That will be explained next chapter.

[Spoiler end]

As usual, have fun reading, drop a comment, correct any grammar mistakes I might have, and all flames will be ignored. Sorry, no witty comment about flamers this time. My brain is slightly fried.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I finally got a Shirou Nendoroid!**

* * *

"Kyaa!" the frightened cry of a girl reverberated throughout the Emiya's backyard as Nanoha fell down on the ground for the umpteenth time that day. Thankfully, no one noticed them due to the Bounded Field set up around the parameter.

Shirou could only shake his head as he looked down at the girl. While she was great at using long-range attack spells and her barriers took up most of the damage during their spars, the girl had no aptitude for close-range combat. The best he could think of at the moment was teaching the girl how to keep her eyes opened while facing a blade-wielding opponent and possibly disengaging from their range of attack as fast as possible. He had wondered if his best friend had an innate ability to dodge an incoming attack, but after testing the girl for three days, it doesn't seem likely.

However, he couldn't say he wasn't enjoying these one-sided spars with his best friend. _'I think I finally understand why Kyōya-san enjoys those sparring matches so much,'_ the boy chuckled internally.

It had also worked as a great outlet for his anger after that little verbal disagreement he had with Nanoha. Sure, ranting his problems to Hayate the other day and Nanoha's profuse apology when she had returned had calmed his anger down significantly, but these matches had finally burned out his remaining irritation.

He did wonder why Nanoha keep blushing at him when their eyes meet these days though. All he remembered was Nanoha apologizing to him in tears about losing the first Jewel Seed they had sealed together, him telling her he would rather lose the space rock than losing her, and then cooking the girl a meal to cheer her up. Shaking his thoughts away for the moment, the boy decided to refocus on the training he was subjecting the girl to.

"Come on, Nanoha. One more match before I prepare dinner," Shirou called out as he traced a pair of short swords once more. There was nothing special about the two double-edged swords other than the reinforcement he had put into them so they were sturdier.

As she lied on the ground panting, Nanoha couldn't help but be surprised by Shirou's skill. While he was lacking in sheer destructiveness and quantity of spells, he could still best her in ground combat. His speed, though not as fast as Fate, was still surprisingly fast. Coupled that with his ability to create large swords as he swings his arms around and his experience from all the spars he did with both Kiritsugu and Kyōya, he truly is a force to be reckoned with.

Nanoha took a moment to ponder who would win in a fight between her best friend and her rival in close combat. While the blonde have a longer reach and wider variety of spells, Shirou definitely has more experience when it comes to fighting seeing how little wasted movements his strikes had.

While he waited for his best friend to recover enough to stand and fight again, Shirou was thinking about the best way they could possibly combat their latest foe. At the moment, the only thing he could think of in combating the blond girl, Fate Testarossa, was for him to engage her in close combat and give Nanoha enough time to blow her up with her magical pink laser beams. Unfortunately for him, he still had no way of keeping up with the girl if she took flight or if her familiar, Arf, joins the fight.

He's still amazed that those beams merely stun living organic creatures while completely vaporizing anything else in the process. The technical jargon he got from Raising Heart as an explanation had given him a headache, so he simply chalked it up as trait of 'space magic'.

At least the girl had finally learned a binding and a movement spell. Unfortunately, it took too long for her to prepare the binding and she kept tripping on the ground right as she exits her high speed movement. She was also starting to get grasp the theory behind forming her mana bolts during battle, though she never did have enough time to unleash it before Shirou came down on her with some sort of great sword and breaking her focus.

After a few minutes passed with his best friend showing no sign of moving from her spot, Shirou decided to end the day's training. Dismissing the twin blades he held, he called out to the girl, "Alright, Nanoha, go take a bath. Join me in the dining room after you're done. Dinner should be ready by then."

"Alright… give me… a bit… more… time… to rest…" the girl responded between breaths. Ever since she started training under Shirou, there was never a day she wasn't completely worn out. Her best friend is definitely a harsh taskmaster.

* * *

"This is the best," Nanoha sighed in relief as she finished the last piece of her grilled salmon with miso sauce.

Shirou couldn't help but give a wry smile at her. The girl always cheers up when presented with food he cooked. With Kiritsugu away for the night due to some business he had to take care of, the two were left alone in the house for the night.

"It's always good to hear someone praising my cooking skill," the boy answered as he started clearing the table. Seeing the girl sitting at the table, too lazy to move at the moment, he spoke up, "You did great during training today."

Nanoha took a second before the praise reached her coherent mind. "Eh? But I couldn't even fully form a magic bolt against you!"

Her forehead was promptly flicked by Shirou. "You've formed a bolt against me," he corrected as he crossed his arms. "You just didn't have enough time to fire it at me due to my onslaught."

"Doesn't that mean I'm still not strong enough to fight Fate-chan," the girl replied solemnly.

Shirou blinked at the girl's response. "'Chan'? Isn't she our enemy?"

Nanoha frowned at her best friend. "You helped her escape from Emiya-oji-san after she almost killed you with her scythe so I don't want to hear you complaining."

Feeling the unhappy glare Nanoha was shooting at him, Shirou decided to get back to topic. "A-anyway… The point is, due to my shorter weapons and dual-wielding, there shouldn't be a lot of time for you to even ready an attack. Fate, on the other hand, is wielding a long weapon. It takes more time to swing it around than my swords. If you could form a bolt while dealing with my combo attacks, it shouldn't be too hard to charge one up at Fate. One you knock her off-balance with a bolt, you should have enough time for a Divine Buster. Just don't take too long setting up your bombardment spell." Tanking a moment to think about Nanoha's spell repertoire, Shirou decided to add, "You also have Flash Move. You don't have any problem with tripping in midair so you could also use that to dodge and get behind her as well."

Nanoha looked uncertain about what Shirou said but decided to trust the redhead anyway. Even though the boy isn't capable of doing the magic she utilizes, he is definitely more skilled in combat. "If you think that will work, I'll give it a try."

"Just trust me. Even if I can't do much, Yuuno will be there for back up as well," Shirou said with a smile. He had promised to stop joining the jewel Seed hunts Nanoha and Yuuno goes on for now on in order to avoid another injury like the one he had sustained at the hands of Fate that day. He never promised he would not follow them though.

* * *

"Is the Bounded Field set?" Kiritsugu asked as he watched the city through the scope fixed on his Accuracy International Arctic Warfare sniper rifle. Currently, he was looking for the escaped agents of the Clock Tower.

They had apparently come out of hiding and started searching for the Jewel Seeds. They even tried to capture a member of Ai's clan for questioning. Unfortunately, they had mistaken Takamachi Shirō for a member of the Tsukimura clan and decided to try and get away by holding a nearby child hostage at the time.

The result was Shirō unleashing one of his hidden short blade on the fool, severing his arm at the shoulder follow by his head. When the rest of the infiltration members saw what happened, they decided to retreat while causing enough commotion to lose their pursuers.

There was a faint static through his radio before an answer came through. [The Bounded Field for warding off anyone without active circuits is done. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to set one up to keep the sound in,] the voice of Alexander stated. [As long as there are no large explosions in the area, we should be able to keep this battle away from prying eyes.]

Without another word, Kiritsugu pulled the trigger of his sniper for the first time that night. He was rewarded with the sight of his target falling to the ground before a pool of red appeared around the agent from his stomach. "One down, six more to go," the Magus Killer intoned as he pulled the bolt on his rifle.

* * *

"Damn it! How the hell did we get into this situation!" one of the Clock Tower members cried out in frustration as he continued sprinting from alley to alley. The group of seven had originally been dispatched in order to find out what the massive mana influx in Uminari City was. There was no way they knew they were being sent into a city filled with oriental half-breeds, let alone the resident city of the Magus Killer!

The mission had been easy until about a week ago when their tracker sensed a small mana flux from the hot spring resort within the wooded area. As they were investigating, they encountered the demon clan members. Their first mistake was trying to take a hostage thinking they were inferior in terms of skills.

Another loud bang echoed through the currently empty street as another member of the team dropped, blood seeping through where his heart was.

"Damn it, they got Thomas," the team leader growled in anger. At the moment, there was nothing more they could do but escape and hide. "It is best if we split up. We have to bring this information back to the Clock Tower at all cost."

While the other members in the scouting team didn't like the plan, the mission to warn the higher-ups about the happenings in Uminari took precedence.

* * *

"_Looks like someone had set up an area-type force field, Fate,"_ Arf reported as she stood on top of a building near the town center. She had been quite interested in the fact that the planet has mages, although their brand of magic was quite different. Another bang rang out and she saw another person clad in black fall to the ground dead.

The familiar was glad her master wasn't here to witness such brutality. She was simply not used to bloodshed. Arf, who used to be a wild animal before she met Fate, had already witnessed her kin fighting and killing others, whether it be for food or territory in the forest. Blood and gore was something she was more used to than her innocent master.

"_Leave them be,"_ the soft tone of Fate echoed in the wolf-girl's mind. _"As long as their conflict does not interfere with the Jewel Seed, there is no need to engage them."_

"_If you say so,"_ Arf replied. However, a frown started forming on her face. For some reason, her instinct was telling her to finish off the units retreating from the sniper as soon as possible.

* * *

"Shirou-kun, I'm heading out. A Jewel Seed just activated!" Nanoha cried out as she finished getting ready to leave.

After seeing Nanoha off with Yuuno waiting for her at the front door, Shirou decided to follow after the girl. He was glad he had found an old bulletproof vest in his adoptive father's belonging while cleaning earlier when Kiritsugu was out. With the vest fitted over him loosely, the boy decided to chase after the girl stealthily.

'_It's better to keep an eye out on her in case something happens,' _he thought. For some reason, he had an unsettling feeling in the back of his mind about the hunt.

* * *

"Damn it!" the team leader of the Clock Tower's scout team cursed as he brought down a ceramic hammer on Takamachi Shirō. At the moment, he was the last surviving member of the entire team seeing as Kiritsugu had taken out two more while the members from the local demon clan had finished off another two.

One of the members had tried sneaking up on the Magus Killer but he was promptly dispatched by a bullet from Kiritsugu's Walther P99.

Seeing the Japanese man ready to unleash his blade once more, the black clad agent of the Clock Tower quickly cried out "Algiz!" while holding out his hammer. The short sword clashed against the delicate looking weapon before it was pushed off. Seeing the opening, he quickly brought the hammer down on the ground while crying out "Isa".

A pillar of ice suddenly erupted from under ex-bodyguard. Thanks to his quick reflexes, he avoided getting hurt by leaping off to the side. Unfortunately, the man he was going after had made his escape while he was distracted. "I lost him," he reported into the radio he received from Kiritsugu. "It looks like that guy is using a mystic code that can set up a strong shield as well as attack with ice. I don't know if it only works if it comes in contact with a solid object or not, so approach it with caution."

Kiritsugu clicked his tongue in annoyance. The last man alive must've been the leader of the group. He was definitely a lot more experienced than the grunts he had taken care of without leaving his sniping spot. He would've chased the man down himself but his weakened body couldn't move as fast or as long as he wishes. "Any idea which direction he went?"

[Negative,] the ex-bodyguard answered. [We should simply assume he is heading to the docks. It is his best chance of escaping the city at this point.]

"Understo…" Before Kiritsugu could finish his answer, the feeling of a Bounded Field activating washed through his body before an explosion shook the area. Seeing the pillar of blue light, the cursed man let out an annoyed grunt. "Looks like another Jewel Seed just activated."

[Just let Nanoha take care of it,] the Takamachi patriarch suggested over the radio. [We should focus on taking out the scout as soon as possible before he worsens the situation for my daughter.]

"Agreed," Kiritsugu responded before looking through the scope of his rifle once more.

* * *

The Clock Tower agent couldn't help but stare at the scene before of him in awe. "What the hell is happening in this city?" he managed to croak out.

After the light pillar shot up into the sky near the center of town, the man had decided to swing by to investigate before he makes his way to the harbor. He figured it was the cause of the disturbance in the ley line the team was sent to investigate.

When he arrived at the scene, he was met with two preadolescent girls shooting at each other with lightning and spheres of pure prana with a few beams added into the mix. The street had been cratered a few times and a handful of buildings around them had been bombarded by the stray spells. This was by no means a low-ranked battle between two magi. The destructive force of the spells was unheard of while the two were throwing them around without any signs of being tired. Seeing a nearby roof being vaporized by a beam of pink by the girl in white, the agent could help but feel a chill run down his spine. That sort of destructive ability was akin to something the Blue could cast, and the girl doesn't even look like she had charged the attack to its full power.

What's more, there were two talking animals clashing against each other nearby as well. The large orange wolf was trying to get a swipe on a small yellow ferret while the critter was shooting chains about, using them as bludgeon weapons.

"If I don't get killed on this mission, I am definitely going to request for a long vacation," the man muttered as he shook his head. Even by magus standard, the scene was quite ridiculous. It is probably what two Aozaki Aoko with flight abilities facing off against each other would've been like, and he doesn't even know what to say about the two animals.

It had been a while since the light died down. Deciding to search for the source, the man shifted his eyes away from the battles and looked around the field. That was when his eyes landed on a small gem floating near the ground off to the side. _'That must be the cause of those mana fluxes,' _the man thought. While the man would normally contact the Clock Tower and have a team knowledgeable about gem-based artifacts sent over, he didn't have the means to do so with the natives in Uminari hindering his efforts. Thus, the man decided to take matter into his own hands and try to get the gem himself.

Before he made a move to try and grab the item, a voice interrupted him. "What are you doing here, oji-san?"

* * *

Fate couldn't believe what she was facing. Given a week's time, the girl in front of her had somehow gained enough experience to fight her to a standstill ever since they had sealed the Jewel Seed. Sure, Fate didn't wish to use any of her stronger spells with other people without Barrier Jackets around, but her usual close-range tactics should've been more than enough to defeat the girl. Swinging her scythe around once more, she found her Bardiche locked in place against the brown-haired girl's Device.

"Since you left in such a hurry last time, I didn't have a chance to introduce myself. My name is Takamachi Nanoha," Nanoha said as she continued pushing her Device against Fate. "While I still wish to know why you are collecting the Jewel Seeds, I know it is pointless to simply ask."

"And why are you telling me this?" the blond girl retorted monotonously.

"Because instead of asking you, I'm simply going to beat it out of you," Nanoha replied. "I have yet to pay you back for hurting Shirou-kun the other day!"

While the two still had their weapons locked together, Nanoha summoned up one of her magic bolts before shooting it at Fate. Due to the close distance, there was no way for Fate to throw up an additional defense against her attack.

**[Divine Shooter]**

Without giving Fate any time to recover, Nanoha quickly call upon her next spell before unleashing the four mana bolts down on the blonde. "Shoot!" The impact from the spell sent Fate careening down to the empty street with a loud crash.

As Fate staggered to her feet, she was met with Nanoha charging up a bombardment spell with Raising Heart pointed at her in Cannon Mode. "This is for Shirou-kun!"

**[Divine Buster]**

Pulling the trigger, the magic cannon unleashed its pent-up power in a power beam of pink. The attack was strong enough to crater the asphalt street and vaporized some of the nearby buildings. It was only thanks to Yuuno's Temporal Force Field that the damage done in the area would simply disappear once the spell collapses.

Once the beam died down, Nanoha gently floated down. She still had Raising Heart clutched tightly in her hands in case Fate had used the same trick to avoid her attack like last time.

She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the girl lying in the center of the crater Divine Buster had formed. While the blonde looked relatively fine, her Barrier Jacket was in tatters. There were small wisps of steam rising up from her body as if she had recently walked through a burning building. There was also dirt clinging to her porcelain skin.

"Are you ready to give up and talk to us or do we need to continue?" Nanoha asked as she raised her staff at the fallen girl. It was better to be cautious of the enemy than giving them a chance to blindside you.

Off to the side, Arf finally noticed her master falling to Nanoha's attack. Turning her attention to Fate, she was unprepared the Ring Bind Yuuno had set up.

"Isa!" a shout from nearby caught the quartet's attention before the sound of something cracking reached their ears. A wall of ice suddenly erupted around them, barricading them from the Jewel Seed.

* * *

Emiya Shirou clicked his tongue in frustration as he backpedaled away from the magus in front of him. After he encountered the man hiding in the alleyway, he was promptly attacked by a ceramic hammer. The cool air generated by the fragile looking weapon gave him a foreboding feeling.

Without another word, Shirou quickly traced his pair of swords and swung at the black-clad man. "What the bloody hell is with you Japanese and swords!" the Clock Tower agent cried out in frustration before another "Algiz" escaped his lips. The sword was fended off but Shirou decided to throw the blade in his other hand at the man, stabbing it into his arm.

The man grunted at the pain but made no sign in backing down. Instead, he asserted his situation. Given the distance between him and the floating gem, he could try and snatch it before making his escape. If he utilizes his mystic code, it should render the sniper useless. Slamming the hammer onto the hard ground, he called out "Isa" before making a run for the gem.

Shirou, seeing what the man was trying to do, leaped over the growing ice wall before dashing after him. "Stop! It's dangerous!"

Unfortunately, the black-clad agent did not heed the boy's warning. Instead, he tried to make a grab for the jewel. Despite the danger of doing so, Shirou decided to stop the man by getting to the jewel first. With a burst of prana sent into his legs, he kicked off the hard street and leaped at dangerous artifact.

Not knowing the boy's talent in Self Reinforcement, the man was unprepared when the boy suddenly sped past him and snatched the gem before he had a chance to. Snapping himself out of his stupor, the black-clad man decided to take the take the artifact from the boy by force. Bringing down the hammer once more with a cry of "Isa", he tried to encase the boy's body in a pillar of ice.

That was when the Jewel Seed started reacting violently. A sudden burst of pure mana erupted from the tiny gem, throwing the man through a nearby building before it pulsed once more.

Shirou was screaming in pain at that point. Due to his contact with the small gem, a surge of mana rushed directly into his body. The nerves he had used in order to create his artificial Circuits began to fill with magical energy, morphing them into high quality Circuits.

One by one, the pain was unbearable. His mind kept altering between the state of wakefulness and unconsciousness as the procedure continued. Every time he blackouts, the pain force him awake. Every time he awakes to the pain, his mind would force his consciousness to fade. His original Circuits began flaring to life as well, adding to the agonizing experience.

Off to the side, the quartet that had finally got out of the icy barricade looked at the redhead in worry. Even though Fate and Arf weren't on good terms with the trio, they wouldn't have wished such torment befall their rivals.

"What's happening to Shirou-kun?" Nanoha asked with a trembling voice. While Yuuno had told her about the dangers these small jewels could cause, it was the first time she witnessed such happening.

"The Jewel Seed is going out of control!" Yuuno shouted in panic.

"But wasn't it already sealed?" Fate questioned. Her voice was filled with worry about the boy.

After their first encounter, the girl had been afraid of seeing the boy. His blood was the first to stain her hands. Even if it was an accident, it still haunted her dreams. Now, on their second meeting, she is once more witnessing him in a pain so powerful most men would've been broken a long time ago.

"It must've been due to both your spells clashing during the sealing," Arf supplied. "What should we do, Fate?"

"We have to help him," was the blond girl's answer. "Maybe if we try another sealing it will stop?"

Before they had a chance to try Fate's idea, the gem sunk into Shirou's hand as if passing through water. The scream suddenly stop but what happened next would forever be engraved into the mind of those present. A wave of fire and light swept throughout the sealed area, changing the scenery into an empty field of red as far as the eyes could see. The sky was dyed in an orange hue with smog tainting the scenery. The loud sound of a hammer striking an anvil echoed throughout the barren landscape.

In the middle of it all was the redhead facing off against a human-shaped shadow with an eerie black glow.

* * *

_Having endured the pain for what felt like an eternity, Shirou awoken to find himself staring into nothing but darkness._

"_Where am I?" the boy asked but he couldn't feel his lips moving. He couldn't feel anything at all. Even though his voice echoed through the darkness, he knew he shouldn't be able to hear anything either. All of his senses shouldn't have worked in such a place. He didn't understand how he knew either._

_That was when a sudden rush of images met him; images of him talking to people he had never met; images of places he had never seen before; images of him older than he should be. "Could these be my alternative selves?" the boy questioned. He had remembered his father talking about an old man name Zelretch once; the man known as the Kaleidoscope._

_For reasons unknown, the boy felt his instinct telling him to continue viewing his alternative selves. Seeing no way out of his current predicament, he decided to obey._

* * *

Shockwaves after shockwaves erupted from the two combatants in the desolated field. While the shadow doesn't have a weapon, relying on its hands and feet to attack, it doesn't seem to be damaged by the sword Shirou wielded.

Nanoha was staring at her best friend in awe along with the three aliens. She had never seen a sword even close to the beautiful silver blade Shirou was swinging around. Every time the boy swung the sword, a silver streak of light was left in its trail. The sword was double edged with its blades curved inward. There was also some kind of word written on the blade, but Nanoha couldn't tell what language it was. The pommel of the sword had a sharp tip to it as well, and it was sturdy enough to be used as a weapon as well, seeing as Shirou tried to stab the shadow with the hilt as well.

From time to time, the blade would flicker as if fading out of existence before solidifying for some reason. There were a few times where the sword would simply pass through the shadow without harming it at all, but the boy was able to keep it solid in order to fend off all of the shadow's attacks.

Even though the sword should've been too big and heavy for the redhead to carry, he was swinging it as if he had done so for years. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as the boy's sudden improvement in his sword skill was helping win the fight. Even with the holy blade in his hand, the shadow doesn't seem to be hurt.

Breaking the blade as it was slashed down by the redhead, the shadow suddenly stabbed forth with its right hand, intending to impale the boy through his head.

Without wavering, a sword suddenly appeared between the outstretched hand and Shirou's face. As the shadow touched the blade, it started burning in fury. It was as if the sword was telling the being touching it was unworthy of laying a hand on it. An unearthly wail escaped the humanoid shadow, giving Shirou enough time to get away.

Finally seeing a chance to approach her friend, Nanoha quickly made her way over to the boy. "Shirou-kun, thank goodness you…" the girl was suddenly cut off by the sight of the redhead. While he was still moving about, his eyes were dimmed. No matter how many times Nanoha tried calling out to him, there was no response.

As the shadow approach once more with a more feral look to it, Shirou sprang into action. This time, it was a different sword. While the blade looked plain, the hilt was pure gold. Unlike the previous blade, those standing near the boy could feel its bloodlust. The sword met the shadow's fist and shattered, but this time, a deep gash appeared on its arm. While the holy blade was sturdier and could hold off the shadow for a longer period, the new blade had managed to hurt it. It couldn't heal its new wound either for some reason.

Two more blades of the same kind soon appeared above Shirou before they were shot forth, piercing the shadow through its chest. Another roar of pain reverberated through the field once more. However, it started melting into a pool of shadow before a human-beast hybrid creature appeared in its place. Though it was still made up of shadow, there were a few more prominent features on it like eyes, a nose, and a mouth full of sharp fangs.

Instead of charging straight at the boy, it sped around in a zigzag pattern. Not giving enough time for the redhead to aim the swords he had created, the shadow slammed into him with the force of a speeding car.

The blow should've broken at least a few ribs, but Shirou's face remained passive. Before the boy had a chance to get up, the werewolf-like shadow charged at Shirou once more, only to be stopped by a yellow cube locking its left arm in place. A pink hoop appeared on its right wrist as well.

**[Thunder Smasher]**

**[Divine Buster]**

A pair of pink and yellow beams smashed into the creature, throwing it away from the injured redhead. While it didn't hurt the beast, it gave them enough time to help Shirou up.

"Shirou-kun, are you alright? Please, talk to me," Nanoha fretted. Unfortunately, there was still no response from the redhead. His eyes still appeared dead to the world.

"It's like he's in a trance," Fate said. It was the first time she had seen someone behave this way, but she had read books pertaining to such behaviors before. But she had never even heard of someone fighting so efficiently in such a condition before. The books had said that a person's actions were dulled when the trance puts a person made them near unconscious, not sharpened.

As if seeing its opponent gaining allies in their fight, the beast let loose a rage filled roar before charging the two girls. With its claw stretched out in front, the creature shot toward its targets at a blinding speed.

The two girls quickly grabbed Shirou before taking flight. For the moment, an unspoken truce was agreed on by the two parties. "Any idea how to deal with that thing?" Nanoha asked. The girl merely had a month worth of experience in the mystic arts so other than blowing them up with pink beams of doom, she doesn't know how to combat otherworldly creatures.

Before Fate could answer, a black bow appeared in Shirou's hand. There was also a moment where his hair suddenly flashed white but the girls thought it was merely a trick of the light.

"M… My bones… shall… twist… all in… its… way…" the dead-looking redhead intoned as he drew the bow. Given his limited movement due to the two girls holding him up in midair, he didn't seem perturbed. A drill-like sword appeared as he pulled the bowstring back before it shifted, becoming thinner and thinner until a thin arrow was left. "Calad…bolg…"

The sword-turned-arrow shot down at the creature at a blinding speed. There was a moment where it flickered out of existence before the drill-like sword appeared once more in its unmodified state. While it lost some speed due to its less aerodynamic design, the Fake Spiral Sword didn't lose any of its destructive power. Once the sword collided with the shadow, it erupted in a cloud of black and red, causing the beast to howl out in pain.

* * *

Outside of the Reality Marble, which looked like a giant glowing blue hemisphere, Emiya Kiritsugu was crying out in pain as he convulsed on the ground. The three other members in charge of Uminari's safety were panicking over the situation. "What is wrong with Emiya?" Alexander was the first to voice his concern while the two other members gave a wince as another pain-filled scream escaped the Magus Killer.

"He's going to hurt himself if this continues. How long before the medic team arrives?" Shirō asked.

"They will not be here for another three minutes unfortunately," Ai answered. She was currently hiding her paling face behind an ornate battle fan.

The battle-hardened man continued to writhe around on the rough ground before a final ear-piercing howl and arc his back to an inhuman degree before collapsing on the ground. Thick black sludge soon flowed out of the man's facial orifices before crawling its way into the blue hemisphere, dodging a few Black Keys that was aimed at it without slowing.

"What the hell is that?" Alexander asked as he tried to launch another salvo of Black Keys at the thing while Ai tried to shred it with her blades of wind.

With one giant leap, the blob of sludge jumped into the Reality Marble, leaving the trio dumbfounded. "Whatever it is, it's nothing good…" Shirō stated ominously.

* * *

_Shirou had lost track of the amount of time he had spent viewing images of his alternates. He had seen himself being raised by the twisted priest, Kotomine Kirei; follow in the footstep of the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh; accidentally thrown through the timeline and landed in medieval England; a world where he lived in ignorance of the magical community after Kiritsugu adopted him; even fighting off gods trying to rebel against the nature of their own myths; that and much, much more. There was even a world where he lived with his birth parent, Yukihira Jouichirou, and trying to be a renowned chef since the age of three while facing off against other prominent chefs in culinary battles in a special cooking school. For a moment, Shirou wondered if that was the reason why he had such a great aptitude for cooking, but brushed it off as something he would think about later. He did find it strange that no matter which world he viewed, he would always be surrounded by at least three females as his closest acquaintances._

_With every world he had seen, even if it was merely a passing glance, at least one new blade was forever burned into his memory, and new lessons were learnt. Be it something as common as a mere kitchen knife to swords of great legends from a bygone era, every blades his eyes came in contact with was added to his arsenal. Knowledge and wisdom from how to prepare a simple meal to fixing a V-Max motorcycle and even the self-created fighting styles of his future selves were forcefully crammed into his head. Unfortunately, there was no information to help him understand women better. Poor guy._

_However, the boy could care less about the unique phenomenon. Currently, he was viewing an image of his grown-up version stabbing Kanshou into the back of Tohsaka Rin, one of his closest friends in that world, all for the sake of destroying the Holy Grail. His grownup alternative had chosen to walk the path of an Ally of Justice and killed Matou Sakura, his beloved __k__ō__h__ai, in order to save the lives of many. He shouted at his alternative self, telling him to stop what he was doing, but it was all for naught. He could only endure as the other Shirou finish off Illyasviel, the biological daughter of Kiritsugu, with deadened eyes before leaving Fuyuki._

'You cannot save everyone.'_ The tired voice of Emiya Kiritsugu filled his thoughts as he continued watching his counterpart killing more and more people in order to save even more lives, until the very end of his life, as he was persecuted by a village that he had saved for causing the calamity in the first place. Standing on the stage set up for his death, he couldn't help but give a sardonic smirk. "I guess these hands truly were never meant to hold anything…" he muttered as one of the villagers tightened a noose around his neck._

_Before the scene could finish, it suddenly froze. Shirou was surprised when a loud thud accompanying the ripples suddenly appeared around the image. As the thuds became louder and louder, the ripples became more and more prominent as well until a spider-web crack appeared. With one mighty blow from whatever was on the other side of the image, the world around Shirou shattered before everything was engulfed in a blinding light._

_After a short while, Shirou felt himself blinking. It was something he wasn't expecting since he had felt detached from his body ever since he regained consciousness in this weird realm. Before he had a chance to ponder what was happening, a voice interrupted him. "Oho? To think I would find one of my favorite entertainments here of all places."_

_The person who had spoken had a coarse voice filled with mirth. Blinking his eyes a few more times to get used to the light around him, the boy came face to face with a tall man with gray hair and beard standing before a field of stars. His eyes had an unnatural red glow to them as he looked down at the boy with an amused smirk. He was dressed in a black suit with white patterns embroidered on. A pair of white gloves covered his large hands and a black cloak fitted snugly over his shoulders._

_The man suddenly gave an over exaggerated bow before introducing himself. "How are you doing, m'boy? I'm Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. A pleasure to meet you."_

_Ladies and gentlemen, the Wizard Marshal has arrived._

* * *

Swords used by Shirou in order:  
1) Arondight2) Dyrnwyn  
3-5) Tyrfing  
6) Caladbolg


	7. Chapter 7

Sup everyone! Ryuga here with another installment of Mahou Senki: Limitless Blades. I've also went back and added a few more lines near the end in chapter 6 so it would be a little more detailed.

Now, for certain reasons, and I know a lot of you might agree, this chapter isn't as well written as it could be. I blame Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance for that... For those of you who hasn't read the LN yet, please skip the rest of these notes down to the [Spoiler!] (Or skip further if you don't like to read that either) cause I'm going to rant a bit...

Okay... At this moment, I want to strangle the writer of Blade Dance. Why did Restia have to die! I don't usually go for the Ojou-sama type characters, but Restia is definitely ranked #1 for me from that LN winning over Est and I usually go for the Kuu-dere types... (looks at Tabitha from ZnT, Reki from Hidan, Hecate from SnS, Sona from HSDxD) Seriously, she's finally united with Kamito and she gets killed off! Kinda embarrassing but I admit I actually cried out "No! Restia!" after I read that part... at like 2am... while visiting my parents... yea...

My muse is still sitting in a fetal position in a small corner of my mind rocking back and forth crying 'Restia' from time to time... I need a psychological evaluation soon...

Well, enough of that for now. Time for a little chapter spoiler.

[Spoiler!]

Okay... this chapter is focused on two major events. The conversation with Zel, and the wrap up on the fight scene. First off, I was a little hard pressed on Zelretch's dialogue with Shirou. With my must kinda going into break down, I kinda forced it a bit while trying to keep the silliness there. I don't know if the explanation he gives Shirou is in character. Just be a little more lenient on criticism on that part please.

The fight, I know there will be disagreements about Shirou tracing 'that' weapon due to its power. There will be quite a bit of you out there saying I'm powering Shirou up too fast but don't worry. His magecraft is going to be unstable until A's. This is sort of a one time thing at this point until he gets proper training. He might use a gimped version of certain items he'd seen in the visions, but that's it. His true power level will be revealed either during or after the 6 months break between this arc and the A's arc.

And don't worry, Zelretch will be a recurring character, even if he isn't going to be Shirou's teacher. He's too epic a character to throw away after one use.

[Spoiler end]

Like always, read, enjoy the Easter eggs throughout the story, remember to drop a review, and all flames will be used to burn Matou Zouken and Shinji to death.

* * *

**Disclaimer: If I dressed up as a giant mushroom wielding an eggplant staff... would people mistake me for Nasu Kinoko?**

* * *

_Shirou couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at the man in front of him. The man who was known to have the power to traverse between dimensions; one of the most powerful and cra…unique man on Earth was in front of him._

_The Wizard Marshal suddenly turned to face the young boy after he caught sight of the kid's stare. "You were going to think something rude about me weren't you?" he suddenly asked._

_Seeing the boy shaking his head frantically, he couldn't help but let out a mirthful laugh. "No need to be scared, m'boy," the Old Man of the Jewel stated as he patted the boy's head. Unfortunately, due to Shirou's still weakened state, the pat toppled him over. Seeing the boy in front of him falling over at the light touch, Zelretch couldn't help but let out another laugh. "Ahh, your first out-of-body experience tends to leave you in a very fragile state… forgot 'bout that…"_

"_Out-of-body experience?" Shirou muttered._

"_Yes, your soul had somehow separated from your physical body," Zelretch explained before spreading his arms wide apart flamboyantly. "Look around you. Do you think we are still in the physical realm?"_

_The young redhead finally noticed his surroundings. Around the two were nothing but an endless darkness covered in small twinkling specks, looking like stars dotting across the night skies. When he glanced down, even though he felt a solid surface there, there was nothing there but the endless void covered with stars as well._

_It took a while before Shirou found the strength to voice his question. "Um… Zelretch-sama, where are we?"_

"_Zelretch-sama? Bah, there's no need for such formality," the Dead Apostle waved off. "It's just the two of us here anyway. No need to act all stiff and formal. So just call me Zelretch or old man. Whichever you prefer."_

"_Old man?" Shirou questioned. This certainly wasn't how he pictured the Kaleidoscope to act. He thought a man with Zelretch's position would've held formality in a higher regard, but the man in front of him was acting more like a child with his showiness._

_Seeing Zelretch nodded at that particular way of being addressed, Shirou continued his question. "So… where are we?"_

"_Hmm… I guess the best way of describing this place is a world between dimensions," the old man answered. "Think of this place as the bridge between the different dimensions around you."_

_That made Shirou blinked. "Wait, so all those stars…"_

"_Are different dimensions. Yes," the Kaleidoscope answered offhandedly._

"_And that giant demonic-looking flaming robot with V-shaped sunglasses and drills behind us fighting some kind of walking darkness?"_

"_I can't answer that due to copyright reasons."_

_There was another long pause due to the awkward response before Shirou decided to ask, "So… does that mean you're also here in soul form?"_

"_Of course not," the old man answered pompously. "Do you hear me speaking with an ethereal voice or my body glowing like a nightlight? I came here through the utilization of the Second Magic."_

_Shirou had been wondering about ever since he regained a body. He had first thought it was simply how everyone views their own body and hear their own voice in the realm, but that didn't seem to be the case here._

_Before the boy could voice another question, Zelretch continued. "You're truly lucky, m'boy. If I hadn't sensed the disturbance within the Kaleidoscope when I did, you would've bought the wrath of the Counter Guardians down upon yourself. You're lucky you even got this far without alerting them due to Avalon's protection."_

"_How do you know about Avalon?" Shirou asked in shock. Even he didn't know about the hallowed scabbard of Excalibur until he saw himself utilizing it in some of the alternative worlds. How the hell did the Einzberns even uncover an EX ranked Noble Phantasm in the first place?_

_Zelretch simply shrugged at the question. "I'm Zelretch. I've looked into enough parallel worlds to know the secrets of a few important people, or those I deemed amusing."_

_For a moment, Shirou didn't know if he should palm his face or be scared witless by Zelretch's proclamation. That was before the other piece of information caught up to his brain. "Wait… Counter Guardian? Like one of my future selves?" Shirou asked frantically._

_He had a small glimpse of a world where he became one of the Protectors of Balance. To say he was a monster was an understatement. With Alaya powering him, there was almost no limit to the destruction he could cause. In less than a minute, an entire city could be leveled singlehandedly by the might of EMIYA with no survivors in sight._

_And he almost bought down the wrath of multiple entities with that level of destructiveness because of something out of his control. "Why would they be after me? Don't they just stop humanity from going extinct or something like that?"_

_There was a pause before Zelretch actually facepalmed. Yes everyone, even Zelretch facepalmed. "What the hell had Kiritsugu been teaching you? I know he had been negligent with the development of your natural Circuits and your knowledge on tactics. I've actually seen his mistake more than a few hundred times! How did he not give you a basic description of what a Counter Guardian is?"_

"_Umm… I think he was going to teach me about that before I kind of forced him to teach me more combat based Magecraft…" Shirou answered sheepishly. "Wait… how do you know about my old man?"_

"_I'm Zelretch! Besides, he should've told you about it in the first place," Zelretch sighed, but brushed it off for the moment. He didn't want to know what was going through Kiritsugu's head when he came up with this ass-backward way of teaching Shirou. Oh well, it wasn't his job to educate the boy in Magecraft anyway. "Just look it up when you have the time. Now let's get back to the matter in hand. What have you learned so far on your little enlightening journey, hero-to-be?"_

_That comment seemed to have struck a nerve with the young Emiya Shirou. "A hero huh?" he questioned solemnly. Other than that last world, the other visions he had received had merely been snippets of what his life could have been like. "Hey, old man, do you think there are no other ways of becoming a hero other than sacrificing the few to save the many?"_

_Hearing the question, Zelretch couldn't help but smirk. He had seen the last world Shirou saw through the Kaleidoscope. Apparently, the choices his alternate had made shook his resolve to walk the path of an Ally of Justice. "Boy, there are different kinds of heroes born every second out there in the multiverse. There are those who help others simply because they could; those who made it their duty to save as many lives as possible like your Counter Guardian self," that comment made Shirou winced, "heroes who seek redemption by saving lives yet still declared themselves evil due to their past deeds; there are also heroes who put themselves in life-or-death situation simply because they wish to protect their loved ones. Sometimes, saving the few may result in saving everyone's lives. Not everyone's life weights the same after all."_

_The comments from the Wizard Marshal got the boy thinking. In the scene where he decided to kill his kōhai; if he had remembered about Rule Breaker, couldn't he have saved the girl without letting her die? Even in some of the missions he had gone on, if he hadn't killed Rin off, her expertise in Magecraft might've solved a lot of the problems he encountered. She could've request help from the Clock Tower to aid him as well if she had the connections._

'If I was faced with the choice between the life of Nanoha and the lives of a hundred people I do not know… will I have follow oji-san's path and choose the many over my friend?'

_Unbeknownst to the boy, small cracks started appearing all over his body like a slowly crumbling porcelain statue. The sight caused Zelretch to smile. Now that he had planted a small seed into the Incarnation of Sword's believes, he wonders how this Shirou will turn out. Will he even have his Reality Marble once he figured out his resolve? Just thinking of the entertainment he could get from simply observing this Shirou made him feel excited._

"_Well, m'boy, it seems like our time is up." Standing up, the Wizard Marshal pulled a cane out from under his cloak and drew a line in the air. A small ripple appeared before the line opened up into a multicolor portal. "Until next time, young Emiya Shioru… and can you keep our meeting a secret? My second-in-command is going to nag my ears off if she finds out I'm ditching work again. We'll meet again soon."_

"_Sure thing old man… Wait, how do you know who I am?" Shirou asked just as his astral body started dissipating._

_His reply was a booming "I'm Zelretch!" from the Old Man of the Jewel before his form disappeared from the bridge between dimensions._

* * *

"D-Did Shirou-kun just shot a missile out of a bow?" Nanoha asked as she looked at the destruction brought forth by the Fake Spiral Sword was definitely on par with her current Divine Buster. While it couldn't vaporize solid matter like the beam attack, it certain had enough destructive force to blow everything within twenty meters of it up. There was also the fact that it seem to create a twisting distortion in space that draws in everything close by.

Fate could only gulp nervously at the sight. She had seen and felt the pulling force of the spiral left behind by the sword. It would've been easy for it to tear through any Barrier Jackets. For a moment, she thought about what would happen if said weapon was to be fired at her. The thought made her shudder in fear.

"Since when can Shirou do that?" the voice of Yuuno interrupted the two girls. Apparently, he had released Arf when the shadow and Shirou started their fight.

"I thought you said he doesn't have a Device, Fate," Arf added. While she had met Shirō, she didn't know what the mages of Earth were capable of. It was not surprising that she thought such a destructive attack came from a person utilizing a Device.

"H-He doesn't have a Device…" Fate answered. She was still shocked by the attack. The boy was definitely someone very dangerous.

"Wha…"

Before Arf could form a single word, an ear-piercing roar came from the burning cloud. It was loud enough to send out a shockwave, blowing the flame and smoke away from where the creature stood. Currently, it was missing more than half its body. Strange black slime pooled around it like a large puddle of black blood.

A black blob suddenly slammed into it from behind, causing it to topple over and fall into the strange liquid before it melted.

A strange sense of foreboding overcame the group as the pool started growing. Soon, it was covering the entire wasteland they had been stuck in. The ground was completely blanketed by the darkness before it started spiraling up into the sky at a single point like an enormous drill.

"What is going on now?" Yuuno cried out in panic

The spiral suddenly came to a pause before it started taking a more humanoid form. Three white mouth-like slits appeared on its 'head' as a grating sound, like that of many insects buzzing their wings, filled the air.

Standing before the group was a something that looked more otherworldly than the humanoid shadow that appeared before. It stood over fifteen meters tall, towering over the group hovering in the air.

It suddenly bought up a fist and punched out at the group, knocking them out of the air and into the cratered ground. Thankfully, Yuuno was fast enough to erect a barrier around everyone before the impact, decreasing the damage done to them by a significant margin.

"Ugh…" a voice the rest of the group hadn't heard since they were trapped in the wasteland groaned out suddenly. Turning their attention to the redhead, they were met with the sight of him rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Opening his eyes, Shirou was greeted by the sight of everyone staring at him. "Uh… hey, everyone?" the boy greeted them awkwardly.

"Shirou-kun! You're back!" Nanoha cried out as she promptly tackled the boy with a hug. "You're finally back! I thought I lost you!"

The redhead was completely taken aback by his friend's behavior as she sobbed into his chest. He knew he had been stuck in that dimension bridge place for a while, but he didn't know how long. Shirou decided to look toward the only other male present for a bit of clarification. "Hey, Yuuno-san, how long had I been unconscious?"

"You had been unconscious? But you were fighting that shadow with those magically created weapons up until now! How could you have been unconscious?" the small ferret said in surprise.

"I've been what now?" Shirou blinked owlishly at the ferret. "The last thing I remembered was being in utter pain." He decided to keep his experience in the world between dimensions a secret for the time being seeing as their rival in sealing the Jewel Seeds and her familiar was there as well.

"If that is the case, then you have been unconscious for at least fifteen minutes," Fate supplied helpfully before cursing herself. She had opened a massive wound on the boy's chest and took one of the Jewel Seed in his friend's possession, so it was reasonable that the blonde would like nothing more than to avoid him at all cost. After seeing the redhead's combat prowess, that feeling seemed to have intensified.

She was understandably surprised when the redhead simply turned to her with a smile. "Thanks. By the way, I never did have the chance to introduce myself. "I'm Emiya Shirou," he said, holding out his right hand with some difficulty due to Nanoha's clinginess. "Nice to meet you."

The blond stared at the outstretched hand for a moment before she simply answered, "Fate Testarossa."

Shirou withdrew his hand awkwardly when the girl didn't shake it before bringing said hand up to scratch his cheek. "You don't need to act so reserved around me, Fate."

The statement earned him a fist to the back of his head via a pissed off Arf. "What are you doing acting so familiar toward Fate?! Had you forgotten we are still enemies?!"

Instead of responding violently like Fate had expected, Shirou simply replied with a bashful look on his face. "Ah… well, I thought you started working together with us when I fell unconscious…"

Fate didn't bother voicing her thoughts about the redhead. While strong, the boy was certainly too trusting. Unknowing to the blonde, a wry smile was slowly creeping onto her face, which went unnoticed by everyone except Arf. "What is the plan for taking down that thing?" the black-clad mage asked instead.

"What thi…" Shirou was cut off as he turned his attention toward the slowly approaching shadow giant. "Wait… who in the name of all that is holy summoned Pestilence?!"

"You know what it is?" Nanoha asked in surprise after she detached from Shirou's chest.

The redhead froze up for a moment. "O-Oh… uh… I've heard about it in one of Kiri-oji-san's lecture… yea…" he answered hesitantly. No one seemed to believe him, but they decided not to point out the glaring lie.

The truth was he had seen that monstrosity in one of the other dimensions. Instead of summoning Medusa as Rider, Sakura had somehow summoned the embodiment of Pestilence. He was glad he barely caught a glimpse of that universe, because the carnage left behind by that thing must've been ridiculous.

Well… there was also another universe where Sakura summoned a loli version of Pestilence with short fuchsia-colored hair that kept calling him 'onii-san' for some reason. Shirou decided to move away from that thought for the sake of whatever sanity he had left.

He didn't want to let slip what he learned on his out-of-body trip, but his inability to lie even after experiencing his alternative selves couldn't help out that problem of his. _'Maybe I should start practicing on telling half-truths like my Kotomine self?'_

Getting his attention back to the current situation, Shirou stared up at what was supposed to be the embodiment of diseases. That was when a thought slammed into his head like a rocket propelled kick. "That's it! Could you hold that thing in place? I need some time to prepare."

Seeing the others nodding, Shirou closed his eyes and started looking through his memory a specific weapon; a sword that is said to be a copy of the sun itself. Even if it is a weapon beyond his capability to create fully at the moment, all he needed was one attack from it.

"**My body is made of swords."**

* * *

**[Thunder Fall]**

Eight bolts of lightning crashed into the towering creature destroying portions of its body. Unfortunately, the superficial wounds were closed up immediately. "What does it take to destroy this thing?" the blond breathed out tiredly before dodging an incoming 'fist'.

While slow-moving, the shadow creature was steadily making its way toward Shirou. The only time it had even paused in its step was when Yuuno erected a barrier around it. A few punches from the creature had shattered the magically created wall though.

**[Divine Buster]**

This time its 'head' was blasted apart by a beam of pink. The creature gave a quick swipe at Nanoha's location before continuing its path; disregarding the girl otherwise.

"How much longer, Shirou-kun?!" the girl in white called out as she looked back. It had been more than ten minutes since they started trying to push the thing back.

Her reply was in the form of Shirou with the familiar black bow in one hand and a slowly forming sword in the other.

Tracing. A variation of Gradation Air Emiya Shirou had perfected in the future to the point where he could create a near-perfect replica of certain items if given enough information on them. It was the one thing that made him stand out despite being a third-rate magus.

With his lack of proficiency in using such a technique and the constant fluxing of mana coursing through his system, it had been nearly impossible to create the weapon he needed. While the process of Tracing is divided into seven steps, he currently needed the first four. The item would be a lot more inferior to the original, but he was pressed for time. Making a mental note to perfect the technique like his alternative selves, Shirou nocked the completed sword onto the bow.

Like the previous blades used by the boy, this one was yet another masterpiece. It had a blue-gray hilt with a thick cross-guard. While its design was quite simple compared to the first sword the redhead had created, it was equal in just as strong, if not more powerful.

A holy blade that had its legend overshadowed by another.

As the sword was altered, becoming thinner and thinner until it was no thicker than an arrow, Shirou took aim at the torso of the approaching giant. "Get out of the way now!" he suddenly cried out while pushing more and more magical energy into the sword-turned-arrow, turning it into a Broken Phantasm. The group, heeding the redhead's warning, quickly evacuated as far away from it as fast as possible.

"The sword of the stars swings once again!" the redhead declared before releasing the arrow. "The Reborn Sword of Victory, Excalibur Galatine!"

The streak of silver left behind by the deadly projectile turned bright orange before it collided with the creature. In a flash, the giant entity was engulfed in a giant fireball with the brightness of the sun. It hissed out in fury as the intense flame burned its body, leaving nothing behind.

With the embodiment of sickness completely burned away, Shirou collapsed in fatigue. He felt his Circuits burning with the excess amount of power from the Jewel Seed embedded in him, causing him to sweat nonstop and hot steam to rise out of his body. When the space gem had sensed its current host using Magecraft earlier, it had tried to push even more mana into Shirou's body. The sudden influx of mana was pushing Shirou's Circuits to its limits. The boy's body would've been torn apart if it weren't for Avalon keeping him intact.

Around the group, the entire world was starting to break apart. Cracks started forming in the orange skies and the ground fissured. Flickers of what looked to be swords of all types started forming throughout the breaking landscape.

As Shirou's breath became shorter, the breaking of their surrounding became greater and greater until the entire place shattered. At the same time, the redhead had fainted from his hyperventilation. Thankfully, both Fate and Nanoha had caught him before he landed face-first on the hard asphalt.

"Is he going to be alright?" the blonde asked while holding up Shirou's exceedingly warm body on his left.

"I think so," Nanoha replied from Shirou's right, though she was a bit uncertain.

"He's breathing normally, but he has a very high fever," Yuuno stated as he started doing a quick diagnosis on the boy.

"Oh really?" Arf drawled sarcastically. "It's hard to tell with that steam rising out of him earlier. We should just throw him into a lake or something. It should cool him down."

"Arf, there's no need to be mean," Fate chastised. The words merely caused Arf to sigh.

"Fate, did you forget that they are our enemy? What happened just now could've been an elaborate trap for all we know! We shouldn't get any more involved in their problems"

There was a short pause before Fate nodded reluctantly. "You're right, Arf," the girl admitted before dropping Shirou's arm. The duo of mage and familiar soon took to the sky. "We will retreat for the day. I will be taking those Jewel Seeds of yours the next time we cross path."

Before Nanoha could retort that claim, someone else's voice caught her attention. "Secure the area immediately! Send both Emiyas to our medic bay immediately!"

"Yes, Tsukimura-sama!"

The sound of many footsteps echoed the sealed off street as men in black suits started searching the entire area. Two of them appeared next to Nanoha before relieving her from the unconscious Shirou. A hand found its way onto the staff-wielding girl's shoulder before she had a chance to protect.

"Don't worry, Shirou-chan will be well taken care of," the voice of a familiar woman spoke up behind the pigtailed girl, causing her to turn around in shock.

"Eh? Suzuka-chan's mama?"

"Yes," the woman answered jovially with the lower half of her face hidden behind her war fan. "Just leave Shirou-chan's treatment to us. We'll have him up and running again before school starts."

"A… thank you…" Nanoha said with a deep bow. She was definitely grateful for the help provided since she was not knowledgeable in healing magic and Yuuno could only do basic first aid.

"There's no need to thank me," the woman states with a smile. "With what you're doing to protect this city, it's the least we could do to support you. Since the secret is out, we might as well explain ourselves." Ai then proceeded to fold up her fan and gave Nanoha a bow. "I'm Tsukimura Ai, official overseer of Uminari City and current head of the Tsukimura Clan. A pleasure to meet you."

"Don't you think we should just leave the explanation to the girl's father?" an approaching man called out. Turning to the shocked girl, the man gave a wide smile. "It's good to see you again, Nanoha."

"Alisa-chan's papa?!"

"Yup! Member of the Holy Church, Alexander Bannings, at your service," the man stated before letting out a cheerful laugh. "Now why don't you go meet up with your father?"

"Ehh? Papa is here too?"

"Yes, and he's right here," the voice of Takamachi Shirō alerted the rest of the group. While usually a carefree man, his stern voice had managed to send a chill down the Church agent and the demon clan matriarch's spine. While they were stronger, they definitely didn't want to get on Shirō's bad side.

"Well… We'll leave you two alone for the time being then," Alex said nervously. "Just leave the clean-up to us. Right, Ai? Ai?" Apparently, the clan leader had disappeared while Alex was trying to make an excuse for leaving.

"Leave," was all Shirō said before the Church agent nodded in agreement and left.

Turning to his daughter, the ex-bodyguard couldn't help but sigh. "I've never wanted you to step foot into our world, you know?"

"What are you talking about, papa?" the young girl asked, tilting her head to the side in a confused manner.

"I guess it's time we talk about the magi of Earth. Now, how much do you know about magic?"

* * *

"So how's Kiri and Shirou-kun's condition?" Shirō asked as he entered the medic room set up at the Tsukimura's mansion with Nanoha trailing behind him.

"It appeared as if the Magus Killer is merely suffering from overexertion. Whatever's left of his Circuits had also stopped deteriorating. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do for treating the damaged Circuits," the clan-hired healer stated as he flipped through the notes he had taken after analyzing his patients.

"As for the boy, his current Circuits are phenomenal! I've never seen high-class Circuits of this quality; not even from those so-called Blue Blood Nobles! There's also some sort of dormant magical 'core' in his body, but I have no idea how to even start analyzing it! And his regeneration rate!"

"Sensei, you're rambling again," Ai stated as she entered the room.

"Um… did you say he has a 'core'?" Nanoha suddenly voiced. Seeing all the adults turned to her, she shrank back sheepishly. "I think Raising Heart might be answer about that…"

Seeing the doctor nodded, the girl approached her best friend with the red gem. "Raising Heart, could you please do an analysis on Shirou-kun's Linker Core?"

**[Alright,] **the magical space staff answered before it was placed on the boy's chest. A moment passed before a chime was heard from the talking red gem. **[Linker Core level estimated to be C-ranked. Currently sealed due to Jewel Seed.]**

"Eh? Shirou-kun's Linker Core is affected by the Jewel Seed?" the girl asked in surprise. It was understandable due to the power of said gems.

**[Yes. Current personnel's Linker Core has formed an attachment to the Jewel Seed. With the seal in place, the Linker Core is also affected.]**

"But how did the Jewel Seed get sealed?!" The last time she had seen the Lost Logia, it was going completely out of control before sinking into the redhead's body. To have the dangerous weapon suddenly ending up sealed off was quite questionable.

**[Unknown item in current personnel had fused with the Jewel Seed before going dormant.]**

"Any idea what that 'unknown item' could be, sensei?" Ai asked. Receiving a negative response, she sighed. "I guess we will try to solve that mystery another time then. Come along, Nanoha-chan. Let Shirou-chan and his father rest for now."

* * *

"_So that's if I use that cooking method, I could make the beef softer without resorting to using high-grade ingredients," Shirou nodded to himself. After he had passed out, he had somehow landed back in his Reality Marble. It was nothing but a jumbled mess with a few swords flickering in and out of existence around him. The earth was fissured and the sky was cracked for as far as the boy could see._

_Surprisingly, a few memories he had obtained through his impromptu spiritual trip was somehow left behind in his inner world in the form of clouds. With no way out, the boy had decided to look into those visions more thoroughly. After all, he had already tried everything from pinching himself to banging his head on the rough dirt ground, and nothing worked in waking him up._

"_I can't wait to try out these recipes when I finally wake up," Shirou grinned as he continued expanding his cooking knowledge; the pain he received earlier completely forgotten for the time being._


	8. Chapter 8

Oh man, this chapter is released quite late. I was hoping to push one chapter a week but I guess that went down the drain.

Would've gotten this chapter out faster if it weren't for all the crap I had to go through over the past 1-2 weeks. First, I accidentally ate a handful of sun-dried tomatoes, which I'm allergic to, because me and my friend got our groceries mixed up and the bag of dried treats wasn't labeled, and was rushed to the hospital. With my sick leave, my work got piled up so I had to rush to meet the deadline. I skipped five days of sleep and pretty much ran on caffeine and sugar, and when I finished, I collapsed due to over fatigue and was hospitalized... again...

[Spoiler]

Now, a few things I'll say about this chapter, and since I'm still recovering from my fatigue, I'll be brief. This chapter is, in my opinion, subpar to the others. I blame my muse taking a nosedive due to my tiredness. There isn't much action except for the end, as this chapter is more or less setting up the future plot a bit more.

The biggest foreshadowed character isn't going to appear until the A's arc of course for those of you who know the Nanoha timeline. That arc is going to be a lot more action-y than this arc for sure.

[Spoiler end]

Well, not much else to say for now. Read, review, give me a few constructive criticism, and I think I've puked enough due to my food allergy to put out a few flames for this story if I need to... I'm going to bed now.

p.s. I have a little preview at the end of this story. Hope you like it.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I hope they do a Force anime adaptation in the future. I would if I own the franchise.**

* * *

"Nanoha, stop being so depressed just because your boyfriend isn't here," Alisa sighed as she looked at the slouching form of her friend as they ate lunch on the deserted school roof. It had been three days since Nanoha had been acting this way.

Seeing the unresponsive pigtailed girl, Alisa turned toward her fellow heiress and whispered, "So… do you have any idea how to break Nanoha out of her depression?"

"Well… there is one thing we could talk about…" the purple-haired girl whispered back. "But I don't think that's such a good idea. Didn't we agree not to tell others we know?"

"It might not be a good idea, but if it helps Nanoha…" Alisa trailed off as she turned her sights back to the person of their topic. The depressed look on their normally cheerful friend bought back some bad memories for the duo. It was back before they had incorporated Shirou into their little clique. "Besides, she already crossed over to our side."

"If you say so…" the quiet heiress voiced quietly.

Steeling herself, Alisa leaned over to Nanoha. "Nanoha, you know about magic, don't you?"

That unexpected comment made the girl freeze up mid step. She then turned to her friends with a look of disbelieve. According to Alex and Ai, their daughters shouldn't have known about their dangerous world. Seeing Suzuka nodded at her as well, her face paled. "I… I don't know what you're talk…"

"We know, Nanoha. There's no need to hide." Looking around to see no one else around, Alisa pulled out what looked like a sword hilt. "Dad isn't a good liar when it comes to family, you know? He gets too into his work sometimes to notice me eavesdropping," she said before a double-edged blade three times as long as the hilt formed out of it.

Next to the half Caucasian girl, Suzuka lifted up a finger and started forming ice crystals in the air. "It's kind of hard not to notice when you start doing things like this, Nanoha-chan," the soft-spoken heiress stated before she put her hand down, causing the ice to shatter.

"W-why…"

"Same reason as you, Nanoha," Alisa answered before her friend could even finish her question. "Do you think we wouldn't know when we hang out with a vampire most of our time during the holidays?"

Seeing the dumbfounded look on Nanoha's face, Suzuka continued. "Merem-ojii-sama from the Church usually visits us during winter break. He taught us a little on how to wield our powers so we could take care of ourselves if something bad happens."

"Yea! Remember his target practice lesson? That was the best!" Alisa cheered as she threw her arm up, accidentally letting go of the Black Key still in her hand. The blade soared through the air before implanting a few inches into the solid concrete floor of the school roof.

The three girls stared at the outcome in shock before Alisa gave a sheepish laugh. "Uh… maybe bringing out something like that was not a good idea…" she said before walking over to retrieve her thrown weapon.

Suzuka gave a worried sigh at her best friend's behavior before turning to Nanoha. "So what happened to you that made you depressed lately, Nanoha-chan?"

Seeing her two friends turning their full attention to her, Nanoha sighed in defeat. "Fine… I guess I'll start from the beginning then. Do you remember the Ferret we found that day in the park?"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Midori-ya, Shirou was cooking to his heart's content. Having woken up before noon, while under the care of Shirō, the boy had convinced the ex-bodyguard to let him prepare the food for the lunchtime rush in the guise of loosening up his stiff body instead of staying in bed or going to school.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay, Shirou-kun?" the Takamachi patriarch asked behind the counter. He had been surprised by the young boy's sudden awakening, and even more surprise when the first question he had asked was if he could use the kitchen.

"Yes, I'm sure. You don't need to worry," the redhead replied as he finished dicing the mushrooms with the skill of a top-notch chef before moving over to prepare the creamy soup-of-the-day.

Shirō narrowed his eyes at the sudden skill increase of his daughter's best friend. For a moment, he wondered if the boy had been replaced by someone else but shook it off. The boy still behaved the same way with that messed up priority of his. Really, what kind of person would actually try to cook in a restaurant by his self after waking up from a four day coma and learning the truth behind his friends' parents? Normal people would've most likely collapsed back onto the bed from the shocking revelation.

"By the way, I heard from Nanoha that you took down a… what did she call it… 'shadow that turned into a giant shade'? How did you manage that?" Shirō decided to ask. The boy was behaving oddly despite the way he acted. If there was anything that could have caused it, it was the time when he and the others were trapped in that weird blue dome.

There was a pause in the kitchen before the sound of Shirou replied. "Umm… I burned it?" While it wasn't a lie, it wasn't the whole truth either.

"Yes, Nanoha told me you shot a sword arrow at it that exploded into a giant fireball. I think she said it was an Excalibur?"

"Excalibur Galatine," came Shirou's reply before he silently cursed. There was no way the ex-bodyguard of the Tohno family would leave him alone after he gave that response. With a tired sigh, the boy turned off the stove before turning to meet his friend's father face-to-face. "I guess I've got some explaining to do huh?"

* * *

There was nothing but silence in Takamachi-owned café when Shirou finished his explanation. Of course, the boy had left the part about meeting the Old Man of the Jewels and the last vision of his alternate self, but everything else had sounded farfetched enough to cause the older male's head to spin.

Shirō's eyes were getting wider and wider as the young redhead explained his predicament when he was trapped in that dome with Nanoha and the others. To think that the dome was actually the outside of a Reality Marble and the boy had somehow accessed the Kaleidoscope simply by coming in contact with that Jewel Seed. A shudder ran through his spine when he thought about what a full set of twenty-one could do in the hands of a curious magus.

'_Kid's going to be a monster when he grows up,' _the Takamachi patriarch thought. Not only does the kid have a gem of unknown origin with massive power in it stuck in his body, he also has the ability to create Noble Phantasms with Gradation Air and even utilized them in ways thought to be impossible for any humans in this day and age.

"So what are you planning to do with your future than?" the adult suddenly asked. While he had known Shirou for the past three years, he knew that an experience like the one encountered by the boy will change anyone.

Hearing the question, Shirou took a moment to think it over. "I don't really know," he replied. "I wanted to be a hero, someone who will try and everyone in need of help, before the entire 'trip through the Kaleidoscope' thing. Now, I just don't know anymore. The Mage's Association might come after me and endanger even more people if I make myself known to them, and considering what I have in me now…"

The boy trailed off but earned an understanding nod from the older male. Having an artifact of near immeasurable power tends to bring more trouble than it is worth in most cases, and with something like that piece of space gem stuck in the redhead's body, people greedy enough are going to do anything they can to have it in their possession. "Are you going to give up on that dream of yours then?"

Shirou shook his head at that question. "No. I will still save anyone who needs help if I meet them, but I probably won't travel around the world and helping everyone in need that I will come across. Maybe I should start my own restaurant instead? I do enjoy cooking after all," the boy finished as he put the kitchen knife back on the rack.

Half way through the conversation, the redhead had moved back into the kitchen to finish cutting all the ingredients he might need to face the lunch rush. Shirō gave a smile at the boy's behavior. It seems like his worries were unfounded. "Well, whatever you choose to do, I'm sure your father will be proud. Nanoha will probably be ecstatic to hear about your decision to open up a restaurant too, though Alex is going to be disappointed," Shirō stated with a chuckle.

"Is Bannings-san still trying to make me a chef at his hotel?" Shirou asked as he joined in on the laugh.

"Oh, he hasn't given up ever since you've made that lasagna for our meeting. During our last get-together with your father and Ai-san, he…"

* * *

"Well, I'm heading out to set up some orders for tomorrow then," Shirō called out as he put on a jean jacket.

Seeing his best friend's father leaving the café, Shirou called out, "Alright, I'll finish cleaning up the kitchen before leaving then." It was quite surprising. They had nearly run out of ingredient for the day with all the customers piling into their little eatery.

The young boy saw the Takamachi patriarch shook his head before leaving but shrugged off such a response. He was still quite shock at his own ability to cook the way he did. It was as if he had developed an instinct for cooking overnight.

It was nearly three in the afternoon when he had finished putting everything away. _Nanoha should be heading to her cram school now,' _the redhead thought before hearing the familiar bell set up on the café's front entrance.

"Sorry, but we're currently closed!" Shirou called out. Instead of hearing his potential customer leaving, he heard the sound of someone tripping over. Curious, he decided to take a peek from where he is before turning back in a panic. Apparently, his and Nanoha's rival, Fate Testarossa, had fallen to the ground and gave the redhead a full view of what's under her white skirt as she rubbed her sore behind.

Quickly shaking off the unexpected sight he was met with, Shirou took a deep breath before making his way out of the kitchen. "Hey…" the boy greeted awkwardly with a lopsided smile.

Hearing the familiar sound of the boy, the blonde quickly got up from the floor before scrambling for the exit, only to fall face first onto the hard ground this time. The girl let out a pitiful moan at the hard impact, causing Shirou to raise an eyebrow in amusement before turning away. Somehow, the girl's skirt had hiked up far enough due to her fall to expose her panties once again. _'I would've never pegged her as a clumsy type,'_ he thought before moving next to the girl.

"Are you alright?" the redhead asked as he offered the pitiful blonde a hand.

Fate merely nodded as she pushed herself off the ground. She didn't expect to run into the powerful redhead while searching for a place to eat. When she heard the boy's voice she had panicked; thinking that she might have walked into one of the storefronts owned by the group Arf had mentioned. From what the wolf girl familiar had gathered, the group apparently had no qualm in killing those who opposed them.

In her haste to try and leave the establishment, she had tripped over her own foot uncharacteristically.

"Why don't you take a seat? I'll get some disinfectants for that wound."

Fate blinked at the boy in confusion before the stinging sensation on her left elbow caught up to her. Before she could refuse the offer from the boy, she had already found herself sitting at one of the tables.

* * *

Shirou watched in amusement as Fate devoured another plate of food he had prepared. Due to the lack of ingredients, he had to improvise on a lot of the dishes. At least the blonde was enjoying her meal if that smile on her usually emotionless face is anything to go by.

He had done this as a way of apologizing for the scare he had given her after he treated her wound. The girl had been resilient until the loud growl emanating from her stomach. "I'm guessing this is the first time you've eaten something like this?"

Fate suddenly froze when she heard the boy talked. She slowly turned her attention back to Shirou before giving him a stiff nod, causing him to beam a smile at her. "Well, if you're ever hungry, just stop by. I don't mind offering some food to you."

A short silence lingered between the two before Fate broke it. "Why?" she asked while tilting her head to one side. The act reminded Shirou of a curious puppy, though he could see the girl behaving cautiously. He understood her weariness, especially since she had inadvertently stepped into her enemy's stronghold more or less.

"Because you reminded me of myself five years ago and Nanoha from three years ago. While I don't know what you've gone through, I believe I know how you are feeling," the boy decided to reply with a shrug. Seeing girl staring at him intently, Shirou couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Why don't we sit down and have a nice chat over tea after the whole Jewel Seed shenanigan is over? Until then, I'll keep the details to myself."

The uncharacteristic pout Shirou got from the girl made him laugh. Up until that point, he was starting to believe the girl was nothing but an emotionless doll. He was glad he was proven wrong with the range of emotions Fate was suddenly showing.

Fate, on the other hand, didn't understand why she was opening up to the boy. Perhaps it was something in the food, or the boy's charisma, or maybe something else that the girl couldn't figure out. Seeing the infectious laughter coming from the boy, the pout on her face started to morph into a smile before she was giggling alongside him.

"You're cute when you laugh, Fate."

The unexpected comment made the girl pause unexpectedly. It took the girl a while before her mind processed what the redhead, making her shrink into herself in embarrassment.

Unfortunately, this was the scene Arf walked in on. "Fate! Are you here?" the wolf-girl familiar called out in her human form as she entered the café. There was a pause when her eyes landed on the redhead with her red-faced master before she growled menacingly at him. "What are you doing to Fate?"

Shirou backed away in panic. Even though his body felt alright, his Magic Circuits were still acting weirdly. For some reason, it was still fluctuating wildly even though he wasn't casting any Magecraft. He had a feeling any weapons he tries to Trace will end up exploding in his face or break apart before it even fully forms. Self-Reinforcement at this point is simply suicidal. "We are merely chatting, Arf-san," the redhead replied with his hands up. Even if he can't use magic, he could at least try to defend if the humanoid familiar decided to attack.

"Arf, stand down," Fate commanded. Immediately, the older looking woman lowered her hostility. Unfortunately for the redhead, she was still staring daggers at him. "We simply had a conversation."

Seeing the bandaged up elbow on Fate, Arf let off a growl. "He hurt you."

"I tripped," Fate stated before her familiar could do anything rash. Not giving any chance for Arf to say anything else, the blond girl got off her seat. "Thank you for your hospitality, but we must really get going." Before the girl made it out the door, however, she paused and turned back to the redhead. "Ano… could I have one of those cakes to go?"

* * *

"So…"

Shirou was currently squirming slightly under the intense stare of Nanoha. Apparently, the pigtailed girl didn't take kindly to the fact that her best friend had just cooked a free meal to her archrival.

Currently, the sword-wielding cook was held down to a chair by Nanoha's Restrict Lock spell. At least he knew the girl's been practicing her casting speed, because she had finished that spell before he could even notice. While he was amazed by his best friend's progress, he was more afraid of what she might do to him at this point. The girl had that same smile he had seen his alternative selves faced when he had inadvertently angered one of his female friends. This usually is followed by some sort of assault that he would barely get out of.

"When you wake up, you didn't even think of giving me a call. You just delve right into cooking for the Midori-ya. You even made Fate-chan a meal." The dark aura surrounding the young girl was definitely something Shirou didn't expect. He had thought it was something girls learn how to do when they are older.

"Ano… sorry?"

The unsure apology made Nanoha snapped. "Do you know how worried I was?!" the girl cried out as she grabbed his collar. Tears were running down her cheeks as she continued to glare at the boy. "You wouldn't wake up no matter what! I thought I've lost my best friend again!"

"I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" the redhead cried out as Nanoha started shaking him back and forth. "I'll keep in mind to tell you first whenever something comes up, okay?"

The declaration made the pigtailed girl stopped before dropping him. "Good. I don't want any other girls getting between us," the girl stated with a nod before what she said caught up with her brain. "I-I mean our friendship! Getting between our friendship!"

Shirou merely blinked at her. That was so uncharacteristic of Nanoha that for a second, he thought he was dealing with that Tohsaka girl.

In Fuyuki City, a certain tsundere let out a violent sneeze and scattered her research notes all over the floor before she started cursing up a storm, much to the amusement of a certain priest.

"Of course nothing will come between our friendship," the redhead said with a shrug. "We've promised to be each other's friends no matter what, and I'm never going to break that promise. Nothing will ever change the fact that we are best friends."

For some reason unknown to Shirou, Nanoha's face seemed to have darkened slightly. "Best friends only…" the girl mumbled out low enough not to have the boy hear it.

Deciding to move away from the current topic, Shirou spoke up. "So… why are Alisa and Suzuka doing here?"

Seeing the girl still skulking from Shirou's proclamation, the blond heiress decided to reply. "We knew about magic before this problem of yours started. We just never said anything because Nanoha doesn't know. Besides, do you really believe that the daughter of this city's demon clan matriarch doesn't have any idea about Magecraft?"

"And what about you?" Shirou suddenly asked. "I doubt Alexander-san would leak any information about the existence of magic to you seeing how many times he told me not to say anything to you."

"Dad forgot to set up a Bounded Field to keep family out of his office," the girl in question answered with a shrug. "That was how I met Merem-jii in the first place."

Shirou's face paled at the mention of that name. He had seen how strong the young-looking Dead Apostle Ancestor was in one of his visions. The destructions caused by the King of Sky, the King of Earth and Lady Windup had left the boy in awe.

"You've actually met the Merem Solomon, also known as the 'Crown' or 'Demon Summoner', fifth member of the Burial Agency; that Merem Solomon?"

Alisa blinked before looking over to Suzuka, who shrugged at her, before turning back to Shirou. "Well, I don't know much about him except he looks a little older than us and my dad apparently works for him."

Shirou palmed his face. This was getting ridiculous. This entire event had given him more headache than he thought possible. _'Who's going to appear next? The White Princess?'_

"So does he visit this city often?"

"Nah," Alisa answered offhandedly, "he just visits during the winter holidays."

Shirou sighed in relief at that. He didn't want a Dead Apostle appearing in the city any time soon with their current conflict. Who knows how many casualties it could result in? No, he couldn't let that happen, especially not Nanoha and the others.

The boy was about to continue but something caught his attention. His circuits suddenly flared up spontaneously before he felt a pull. _A Jewel Seed just activated!' _the boy thought before turning to Nanoha.

Apparently, the girl also felt the awakening of another Jewel Seed. Nodding toward each other, the duo bolted out the door. "We'll talk more about this after we get back!" Shirou called out.

"Sorry for leaving you behind again Alisa-chan, Suzuka-chan!"

The two heiresses could do nothing but stare at the retreating backs of their friends. "It feels like baka-Shirou and Nanoha are leaving us behind, doesn't it?" Alisa questioned with a sigh.

"Should we follow them?"

Suzuka's question made Alisa pause for a moment before she shook her head. "Nah, maybe next time. Let's just wait for Nanoha and that idiot for now."

* * *

"Didn't we face something like this before?" Shirou asked as he hopped to his left, avoiding a strike from the creature in front of him. Said creature was a giant tree monster. While it was not bigger than that black construct he faced with the others entitled Pestilence, the barrier erected around it more than made up for its toughness.

"Well, the last time we faced a tree, it wasn't swinging its branches at us," Nanoha replied as she veered away from the tree's attack before firing a few mana bolts at it. The tree seemed to roar out in frustration as it missed its target once again.

"And it apparently has the ability to roar," Shirou stated with a shake of his head. "How is it even doing that? I really doubt it has any sort of voice box that let it produce sound."

"Less talking, more dodging!" the talking ferret cried out, causing the floating magical girl to do a barrel roll away from another wild swing. Turning to the redhead, he asked, "Could you send in a few of your swords to distract it or break down that barrier?"

"I've been trying, but with my Circuits still fluctuating like crazy, my swords would either be more fragile than glass or explode in a giant blaze. I think I need to have a seal placed on me or something so it wouldn't keep going crazy like this, but I have no idea how. The only person I can think of that has any knowledge about this is my dad since Alex-san didn't know any magic-binding rituals that will leave me alive." Leaping back out of the tree's growing reach once more, Shirou turned to Yuuno. "Can't you shatter the barrier with one of your spells or something?"

"Sorry, but I don't know any barrier-breaking spells. My binding spells are also kind of useless since they can't make contact with its body."

**[Photon Lancer]**

"Well, at least the temporary cavalry is here," Shirou said with a shrug right as five balls of yellow lightning slammed into the tree's barrier. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any damage done to the newest Jewel Seed-created monster.

For a while, the two girls continued to fly around the giant tree monster while shooting their respective spells, much to the ire of everyone present. "Oh for the sake of… NANOHA! FATE!" Shirou finally snapped as the tree grew far enough out of its original location to take a swing at him once again.

Seeing the two girls turn their attention to him, he continued. "Aim and shoot your strongest spell at the thing in the same place at the same time! It should be more than enough to take out that barrier and stop the Jewel Seed!"

The two rivals paused and look at each other for a moment before nodding. They then aimed both their weapons at the tree.

Atop Shirou's shoulder, Yuuno couldn't help but shake his head. "You actually got our enemy to work with us? How do you even do that?"

"Don't know," Shirou replied honestly. Even though he knew he was on a better term with Fate than before after their little talk, he doubt the girl would help them out of the goodness of her heart, not with whatever was driving her to finish her given task.

Seeing the jewel finally calming down from its rampage, the two girls once again turn to each other in hostility.

"I will have you relinquish this Jewel Seed," Fate stated in her usual monotonous voice. The tip of Bardiche's Glaive Form was once again pointed at Nanoha. Shirou couldn't help but feel something wrong with the way Fate declared her intention. The coldness he heard from the girl was more intense than usual.

"Well, we're not going to let you get another Jewel Seed until you actually tell us your purpose," Nanoha declared as she pointed the tip of Raising Heart's Cannon Mode at the blonde. Her finger was also awfully close to the trigger.

Before a single spell could fire, a flash blinded the two. Nanoha soon felt a fist slammed into her stomach while Fate received a kick to the chest, forcing the two to back away from each other. A small ring was soon locked onto each of the girls' limbs before they could do anything else, holding them in place.

When the flash died down, the group was met with the sight of a dark-haired boy in an elaborate black uniform with two protruding silvery spikes. In his hand was a black staff capped with what looked like a clear cylinder tube under a circular metal plate and a wing-like piece sticking out from the side.

"Stop right there," the newcomer stated as he shifted his eyes between the two girls sternly. "I'm Officer Chrono Harlaown of the Time-Space Administration Bureau. Would all present party explain what is going on here?"

* * *

**Okay, here's a little preview for the A's arc. Didn't run it to any spell or grammar check so just bear with me here. Hope you guys enjoy it.**

* * *

Signum panted as she glared at her opponent. The redhead floating in front of her had matched her blow for blow over the course of their fight. However, there was something she didn't understand about the boy.

"You seem to be quite the competent warrior for one so young," the pink-haired swordmistress stated as her grip on Lævatein tightened. "However, you don't seem to carry any pride in your weapons. Why is that?"

Shirou merely chuckled at the woman's analysis. "I didn't expect to hear those words so early in my life." Seeing his opponent raising an eyebrow at him, he waved it off. "You are correct. I do not put any pride into the weapons I use, because I put my pride elsewhere. These weapons I hold are mere constructs; faulty replicas of what they truly are." He let go of the pair of black and white daos, letting them dissipate into the air before turning his attention back to the pink-haired woman.

"What are you babbling about? If a swordsman's pride does not have pride in their weapons then where could they place it?"

"While I mostly uses the twin swords as my main weapons, I'm not a true swordsman. My pride lies with the hammer and forge I uses to create these replicas and masterpieces from a bygone age. The same forge that I carry within me wherever I go." Five ripples soon appeared in the air around the young redhead as he continued staring at the prideful knight. "I am Emiya Shirou, the Smith of Limitless Blades Work." The tip of different blades soon slid out of the glowing portals, pointing directly at Signum. The swordswoman's eyes widened at the ability before she quickly raised her weapon. "Now then, let's see how well you fare against an onslaught of blades."


	9. Chapter 9

Nothing much to say. Busy. Used my B-day to write this. Life's been bad so probably no update in a while again. Enjoy, look for Easter eggs, review. Have a nice day.

* * *

"I'm Officer Chrono Harlaown of the Time-Space Administration Bureau," the dark-haired boy stated as he put his hand forth. Immediately, a bluish three-dimensional magic circle formed in the palm of his hand. Within the bluish light was a hologram of what looked like the boy's photo identification. Putting his hand down, he shifted his eyes between the two girls. "Would all present party explain what is going on here?"

An orange bolt of pure magic suddenly raced toward the Bureau officer. With the reflex of a true veteran, Chrono set up a barrier instantly. He could've dodged but the spell would've hit the white-clad girl instead. With his concentration broken, the binding ring was dispelled.

"Fate! Get out of there now!" the voice of Arf called out as dust filled the air due to the explosion of spells. However, instead of trying to get away, Fate made a leap for the Jewel Seed.

Sensing a sudden movement in the dust cloud, Chrono aimed his staff in the direction before firing off a mana bolt. The sound of explosion followed by someone crying out in pain reached everyone's ears as the dust finally died down.

"FATE!" the panic voice of Arf suddenly filled the air. Everyone was met with the sight of Fate lying on the ground with a trail of blood leaking down from her head.

"Don't move!" the Bureau officer commanded as he once again took aim with his staff. Another mana bolt soon appeared, humming menacingly at his targets.

"How dare you hurt Fate!" the frenzied familiar cried out before charging at Chrono, claws poised to slash at the young law enforcer. Before she could even take two steps forward, Shirou had jumped in her way.

"Rho Aias!" the redhead cried out with his right hand facing the oncoming attack. A four-petal shield sprung into existence, causing the blue mana bolt splash against the hastily made Conceptual Weapon harmlessly before it shattered. The redhead let out a relieve sigh. He could already feel his circuits burning up at an alarming rate. "At least that held long enough…" Seeing the surprised look on the other boy's face, Shirou quickly turned toward the familiar. "Take Fate and get out of here. She needs to get treated now!"

Arf nodded hastily before leaping away from the group, leaving the Jewel Seed behind. Fate's wellbeing was more important than a piece of potentially dangerous gem from space any way.

Nodding in satisfaction in what he had accomplished, Shirou turned his attention back to the Bureau agent. "Alright, now that they are out of the way-WOAH!" Whatever the redhead wanted to say was cut off by another attack launched from Chrono. "Why did you do that?!"

"You've just aided in the escape of a potential criminal in front of a law enforcer and you asked why I did that?" the dark-haired boy asked, his voice dripping with irritation.

Nanoha couldn't help but sigh at the scene. "Sorry, but Shirou-kun is… a bit off, especially that sense of justice he has…" the girl trailed off with a forced laugh before turning toward Shirou. "I thought you can't use magic yet! Didn't you say you might accidentally blow up or something?"

"WHAT?! How is that even possible?!" Chrono cried out in shock. "Unless he comes in contact with something that caused his Linker Core to expand far beyond what he used to be capable of, that should be impossible!"

"Well… does a Jewel Seed implanting itself in his body count?" the lone girl present asked sheepishly as she shifted around. "And could you please let me go? It's very uncomfortable in this position."

"A Jewel Seed is INSIDE him?!"

"Well, yes," Yuuno decided to interject. "During our prior encounter, the Jewel Seed entered Shirou's body after he made physical contact with it when he tried to secure it from a third party."

"Could you stop talking like I'm not here?!" Shirou interrupted.

"And dispel the bindings! Standing in this position is giving me a weggie!"

* * *

"Is it really necessary to bind me with chains?" Shirou groaned out in frustration once again as the trio and Chrono walked down a long corridor. The redhead had been whining about the unfair treatment for the past five minutes, which was starting to grate on everyone's nerves.

Getting aggravated by her best friend's constant complains, Nanoha decided to club him on the head with Raising Heart. "It's your fault for interfering in a police officer's job! Do you actually expect them to treat you as anything else other than a criminal?"

"…Maybe?" The questionable answer earned him another smack over the head via magical talking staff. "Oww! That hurts! Stop that!"

"Not until you learn to stop being so impulsive!"

Off to the side, Chrono couldn't help but find the scene quite humorous. "Are they always like that?"

"For as long as I know them," the yellow ferret answered with a tired sigh. "I'm still surprised how efficient they are when it comes to taking down those activated Jewel Seeds."

"I'm more surprised by the fact that someone from non-administrated world #97 even has the ability to utilize magic. If I remember correctly, our last envoy sent here stated there were no eligible magic users on this planet."

"That's strange indeed. According to Shirou, there is supposed to be a whole community of mages here and even some subgroups that is made up of 'demi-human' or something."

"…We'll talk more about this after we finish what we came here to do in the first place." The young law enforcer cleared his throat loudly, catching the attention of the bickering duo. "Now, please put any arguments between the two of you on hold for the time being." Turning his attention to Nanoha, he continued, "Before we move on, please deactivate your Barrier Jacket and put your Device back in Standby Mode."

Nanoha merely nodded before she dismissed her magical armor and staff, leaving her in the white school uniform she was wearing before and the familiar round red gem.

The TSAB officer then turned toward the ferret. "And you should return to your normal form too."

That piqued Shirou's attention. "Oh? So we finally get to see you out of your animal form huh?" Next to him, Nanoha's eyes were shining with curiosity.

Chrono raised an eyebrow at the small critter, getting a nervous chuckle from Yuuno. "Do you have any idea how scary your fathers are?"

"Well, he did earn the title of Magus Killer before I was born…"

"Alisa's papa often teased papa about being more like an assassin more than a bodyguard. I thought they were just joking around until a while ago."

Yuuno shiver at the thought before turning to Nanoha. "And the only reason they didn't 'interrogate' me, as your father put it, is because your mother and Lady Tsukimura thought I was too cute to be treated roughly by them while I was in this form."

Nanoha gave her animal friend a sheepish chuckle before apologizing while Shirou shot him a pity look. "Well, at least oji-san didn't go through with that threat. He can be very… persuasive… and it doesn't matter what your gender, age or ethnicity is. There's a reason why a lot of people fear him after all. I guess you told them everything?"

"Of course!" Yuuno cried out as he turned to Shirou. "Your father was actually heating up a dagger while the others were asking me about the entire incident!"

"Could you please release your transformation so we can proceed?" Chrono stated with a hint of annoyance in his voice as he crossed his arm. While he was curious about the magical community on this planet, there was a more important issue that needed to be addressed at the moment.

"Ah, sorry," the ferret bowed apologetically before a bright green light enveloped it. Shirou and Nanoha looked on in awe as the lit-up ferret soon started growing in size until an outline of a human was scene. When the light finally broke apart, Yuuno was standing in front of the three in his original form.

The ferret turned out to be a young boy around Shirou and Nanoha's age with a mop of short blond hair and green eyes. He was wearing a light green hoodie and a pair of tan shorts. Fitted on his feet was a pair of brown hiking boots. Despite being an archaeologist, one who spends a lot of time outdoor under, his skin was quite light.

"It's been a while since I've changed back to human form," Yuuno said as he stretched out his body. Looking at his two friends, he couldn't help but feel unease. Nanoha was looking at him with wide eyes and her jaw dropped while Shirou merely observed him with curiosity dancing in his eyes.

"You mean you really were a normal boy this entire time?!" Nanoha cried out in shock, shaking Shirou out of his inquisitive look before the redhead palmed his face.

"Well… depending on how you view normal… but I thought we established that a while ago, Nanoha," Yuuno sighed. Not for the first time, the archaeologist from space wondered how Nanoha kept besting all those Jewel Seeds in the past.

Chrono let out another a sigh. His annoyance had been growing stronger and stronger since he met the trio. "Let's get a move on. You can talk over any problems you have with each other after we sort out the matter at hand." Without another word, the black-clad law enforcer continued down the path, forcing the trio to stop their conversation and follow after him.

* * *

"We're here," the dark-haired officer stated as the group arrived at a metal door. Taking an extra step forward, the door automatically parted, revealing a room with an indoor waterfall, a shish-odoshi set up near the artificial pond, and even a fully bloomed sakura tree. Petals from said tree were scattered through the air and around the floor. There was even an opened red oil-paper umbrella set up as a decorative piece.

At the center of the room was a 4½ tatami mat rising covered by red carpeting. Sitting there in seiza was a woman with mint green hair wearing a blue and white uniform. Next to her was a tea ceremony set with enough tea bowls and snacks to serve five people.

Seeing the group of kids entering, the woman gave them a kind smile as she beckoned them over. "Ah, you must be the group taking care of the Jewel Seeds before we've arrived. Please, have a seat." She paused for a moment when she laid her eyes on the redhead. "Chrono, could you please release those chains on the boy?"

Begrudgingly, the young officer released the Chain Bind. While he knew the Admiral was strong enough to put the trio if needed, he was still a little hesitant.

Yuuno and Nanoha immediately sat down across from the woman while Shirou eyed her suspiciously before taking his seat as well.

For the next few minutes, not a word was spoken as the woman prepared tea for her guests. Chrono merely sighed at the eccentric behavior of his commanding officer as he stood off to the side.

After the tea was finished and placed in front of everyone sans Chrono, the woman decided to introduce herself. "It is a pleasure to have all of you on board the Arthra. My name is Lindy Harlaown, the admiral of this ship. I hope Chrono wasn't too rough with you when he brought you here."

"Ah, no. He was quite nice," Nanoha answered with an awkward laugh while glaring at Shirou, prompting the redhead to hold his tongue.

"That's good to hear," Lindy said, completely ignoring the silent exchange of words between the two children. "My son is quite stiff while he's on duty."

Chrono let out a frustrated groan. "I'm just following protocol, ma'am. And could you please refrain from calling me your son while on duty?"

"You should relax more, Chrono. It's just us here and this meeting is off-the-record. Besides, you need to learn that there are times when you have to break protocol in order to carry out an investigation," the woman stated with a sigh before turning back to the trio. "Now, why don't you introduce yourselves and tell us what has been going on."

* * *

"I see," Lindy nodded to the trio in front of her. The redheaded boy had decided to explain most of the situation to her with Nanoha filling in any missing details of her friend's account. She was quite surprised by how Shirou had worded his report. It felt more like she was talking to Chrono while he's on duty than an actual ten-year-old.

Shirou had simply given the woman in front of him an overview of what had occurred; deciding to forego anything he deemed unnecessary for the report. After all, it wasn't out of character for Earth magi to keep some secrets to themselves, especially when it is related to their Magecraft. The only reason he even told Shirō was because the older man had cornered him about the issue, and even then, he didn't reveal the fact that he has a Reality Marble, passing it off as a creation of the giant black creature he had to face with everyone else.

"I'm glad you have a solid grasp on the situation so far. At the very least, you know what you've gotten yourselves into. I am still surprise that this planet has any magic users on it though," the admiral of the spaceship said before taking a sip of her tea. "Is there any possible way for me to set up a meeting with the mages on your planet?"

"Well, if it is just our small group, then you should be able to meet with them right now I believe," Shirou said with a shrug.

"That sounds like a perfect idea," Lindy replied with a smile before taking another sip of her tea. Placing the cup down on the tatami mat, she started doing something both Shirou and Nanoha felt greatly uncomfortable with; she started adding sugar cubes and cream to it. "Now, let's move onto the more important problem we have. I believe you've said a Jewel Seed had bonded with you?"

"Um… yes…" Shirou said while trying to avert his attention away from the blasphemous action of the woman in front of him. His eyebrow twitched every time Lindy added another sugar cube into the ceramic cup. Next to him, Nanoha was having a harder time keeping her displeasure hidden.

"I've been hearing how these Lost Logia and Jewel Seeds are remnants of ancient empires and are extremely dangerous, but what are they really?" the pigtailed girl asked, trying to divert her attention away from the horrid concoction the ship's admiral was drinking.

"We don't really know," was the reply she got from the black-haired child standing behind the woman. "What they were made for, how they came to be, why they were even created in the first place… none of us really know the answers to these questions. The only ones who could give an answer are those who created them, and unfortunately, they are all dead." Seeing the confused look on the duo's face, Chrono gave a sigh. "I guess I'll have to explain from the beginning.

"There are many different worlds out there within what we referred to as a dimensional space. It's a place which allows us to travel through space easier and links us to other dimensions. Within it, countless worlds are born. Each will then start evolving in ways that are similar or completely different than that of ours. Do you understand that so far?"

Shirou replied with a nod at the explanation. The explanation sounded suspiciously akin to the Kaleidoscope in his opinion. Nanoha, although didn't truly understand it, nodded as well. If she didn't understand anything, she could always try to ask Shirou to explain it in a way for her to understand better.

"Well," the young officer continued, "there are some civilizations out there that had advanced their technology so far they ended up destroying their world. The only thing left would be some pieces of technology that survived their destructions through unknown means. We call them 'Lost Logia'. With the power of these powerful objects, it is said that one could harness enough power to destroy not only an entire world, but a section of the dimensional space as well."

"There are no real ways of destroying these items either," Lindy added with a sigh. "At least nothing short of an 'end of the world' scenario, and even then some Lost Logia could reform itself no matter what. The best we could do is put a seal on them and lock them away."

"The Lost Logia you've been hunting down are crystalized energy of dimensional interference. If enough Jewel Seeds activate at the same time, a dimensional distortion large enough to engulf this entire planet may occur, relocating it somewhere else even if the space is currently occupied. If that happens…" Chrono finished with a foreboding tone.

Shirou's face paled at the thought while Nanoha looked confused. "You mean those tiny little space gems has enough power to possibly send the Earth crashing into something out in space?"

"You could also doom your planet to drift through space away from your planetary system. There's also the possibility that you shift into a dimension similar to yours; causing too much stress on existence itself and destroying that section of the dimensional space. That's the worst-case scenario by the way and it's already happened once on record." Chrono supplied.

"I've heard of that. It happened in the year 462 going by our old calendar I believe," Yuuno said, causing Shirou and Nanoha to turn to the blond boy in surprise. "In a fraction of a second, countless worlds ceased to exist. It was one of the greatest tragedies in history."

"Yes, we've lost a lot of good men and women sent to try and contain the disaster that day. Twenty L-class ships left, but only one returned, and it was badly damaged too," Chrono sighed before he refocused on the group. "While we were traveling to your planetary system, we encountered a dimensional distortion. Supposedly, it came from your world. I believe that was approximately 94 hours ago?"

"So, that's about four days ago, huh?" Shirou mumbled before tapping his chest. "I think that's the time when this Jewel Seed assimilated into my body."

"It's a surprise you're still alive," Chrono stated as his eyes narrowed. "Even if it is just an inconspicuous fraction of the Lost Logia's power, a human being isn't supposed to have the ability to store that much raw energy within them. Just what are you?"

"A human with extremely skewed luck. Well, according to the doctors I'm human; one with the ability to use magic anyway. You could do a quick medical diagnosis on me if you really want. Just don't dissect me," Shirou replied with a shrug and a wry smirk on his face.

"You sure have a morbid sense of humor," Chrono huffed as he folded his arms.

"And you completely lack a sense of humor," Shirou retorted.

"That's enough! Chrono, we are not here to antagonize the locals," Lindy reprimanded. She then turned her glare toward the redhead. "I don't know what happened between you and my son, but could you please leave that aside for the time being?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" the two boys replied immediately. The woman's angry glare completely halted any possible bickering between the boys before it could escalate any further.

"She's as scary as mom is when Shirou-kun does something stupid," Nanoha muttered to herself as she giggled.

Clearing her throat, Lindy continued, "Now, due to the severity of this issue, the Time-Space Administrative Bureau will hereby take charge of retrieving the remaining Jewel Seeds."

Shirou narrowed his eyes in annoyance before he forced down any outburst he might give off. The Bureau officers were simply doing their jobs after all. Taking a deep breath, Shirou looked the admiral in the eyes. "It would be a very large problem for me not to get involved, seeing as one of them currently resides within my body."

"We will find a way to safely remove it from you. For now, we've already got some people looking into a seal for you. It should be ready before we leave. Just forget about all this and go back to your daily lives," Chrono stated.

Yuuno clenched his fist hard enough for his knuckles to turn white when he heard Chrono's words. After everything he and everyone else had gone through, the Bureau had completely dismissed them. The boy still felt guilty for unearthing the dangerous relics and not seeing this incident to the end left a bad taste in his mouth.

Nanoha, on the other hand, was confused at the sudden dismissal. "Eh? But-"

"Well, I understand your feelings, seeing as we just came out of nowhere like this and took away your responsibility. Why don't we meet with your parents first and then decide on what we should do," Lindy offered.

Shirou nodded at the woman. "That's acceptable. While magic isn't as widely known as your world, we do have certain groups that act as law enforcers against any magical threats. You will need to inform our fathers' group if you wish to move around without being seen as possible hostiles."

A knock on the metallic door interrupted their conversation before a girl with short brown hair entered the room. "The seal you've requested has been prepared, Admiral Harlaown," she said while holding out a watch-like device. Where the timepiece would be, there was a black square piece with what looked like three red wings arranged in a semicircle. The sections of the metallic band alternated between red and black with two gold lines running down the middle.

"Perfect timing, Amy," Lindy said with a smile. Taking the item, the admiral turned toward the redhead and handed it to him. "Just put this on and it should suppress the Jewel Seed until we find a way to separate it from you."

For some reason, the redhead couldn't help but feel a strong sense of irony when he looked at the sealing device.

* * *

"Shirou, Nanoha, you're finally back!" the worried Takamachi patriarch greeted the two children as they entered the Takamachi's house. "Where have the two of you been? We've looked everywhere for you!"

Before the two children could answer, the mint-haired woman interrupted. "That would be my fault. They were brought onto the Arthra after recovering the recently activated Jewel Seed for a quick debriefing."

Shirō raised a brow at the smiling woman before introducing himself. "I'm Takamachi Shirō. Takamachi is my family name and Shirō is my given name, just like the redheaded boy there. May I please know who you are?"

"Lindy Harlaown, admiral of the L-class Time-Space Administration Bureau spaceship, Arthra. Pleased to meet you," the woman answered before moving to the side. "This is Chrono Harlaown, one of our top commissioned officers and my son."

Shirō nodded at the TSAB officers before inviting them into his house. "Please, come in and make yourselves at home. Remember to take off your shoes at the door." He then turned toward the young redhead. "By the way, Kiritsugu just woke up a short while ago. Why don't you go see him while I call the others?"

The younger Emiya nodded before heading to the room his adoptive father was supposed to be resting in with Nanoha and an unknown blond boy following behind. Shirō raised a brow in curiosity in the newest addition of the group before turning his attention back to his other guests. "Why don't you two head to the living room for now while I finish preparing dinner. It shouldn't be too difficult to make three more servings."

* * *

Arriving at the door of the room used to house the previously comatose Kiritsugu, Shirou gave it a knock. "Kiri-oji-san, are you awake?" Hearing an affirmative grunt from his adoptive father, the redhead entered followed by his two friends.

Shirou was surprised when he saw Kiritsugu. When he last saw the older Emiya, he had been deathly pale. Even before he entered his coma, he looked as if he was barely hanging to his life. Now, the Magus Killer looked a lot healthier. His eyes were also a lot more focused than it had been for the past three years.

The older man gave a quick check on his Walter before sliding it into the sleeve gun under his trademark trench coat. Turning to the young redhead, Kiritsugu gave him a wry smile. "I see you've woken up before me," he said before his eyes locked on the blond. "And you've brought a new addition to your group. Anything interesting happened while I was unconscious?"

While surprised by the sudden shift in his parent's demeanor, Shirou quickly shrugged it off. "Not much. The officials from that time-space organization finally arrived. They are currently in the living room with Takamachi-san."

Kiritsugu nodded before turning to the other boy in the room. The blond could feel the older man's glare as he started to sweat slightly.

Catching where his adoptive father's attention was focused at, the redhead quickly introduced. "Ah, right. That's Yuuno-san. You probably remember him as the tiny ferret in our group."

The Magus Hunter nodded in acknowledgement before turning back to the redhead. "Tell me what happened on the Jewel Seed hunt before we both fell into a coma."

"I got the thing stuck in my body, some shadow thing was expelled from my body according to Nanoha and Takamachi-san apparently some black tar-like substance came out of you. Then you fainted, the tar entered the Reality Marble created by the weird black shadow thing. We then defeated it with the help of that blond girl and her familiar before they left. And now, I have a dangerous artifact lodged inside my body with a seal that the Bureau personnel created to hold it in place until they find a way to safely remove it without killing me or endangering the lives of billions."

"We'll talk more in details after we get back home," the older Emiya stated before leaving the room.

Shirou was about to follow his adoptive father but was stopped by a certain pigtailed girl clinging to his arm. "Shirou-kun, your father is very scary…"

The redhead merely shrugged before giving his best friend a pat on her head. "Don't worry. He will not hurt you. I'll make sure of that," the boy declared. While he respected Kiritsugu for what he stood for, his belief differed from the older man. He would've tried to carry on the gruff-looking man's ideals if it weren't for all those visions of his alternative selves he witnessed and that talk to Zelretch.

Nanoha couldn't help but blush when she heard her best friend's declaration. A smile slowly made its way onto her face as her fear started receding.

Off to the side, Yuuno couldn't help but raise a brow at the scene. "Are you sure you two aren't a couple?"

* * *

Dinner had been awkward for the children at the Takamachi household. While the adults were chatting away casually, Shirou and Chrono were glaring at each other with hostility until Kyōya cleared his throat at the two. Nanoha and Yuuno could only sigh at the antagonism between the two boys as they tried their best to ignore them.

Currently, everyone was back in the living room. Lindy and Chrono had taken up a seat on the chairs they were provided while the four adults in charge of the city's safety were seated on the couch. The Tsukimura's guards were stationed around the room as a safety precaution while the three children that had been involved in the case so far stood next to the couch.

Nanoha had hoped that Kyōya would've stayed for the meeting, but he had left to meet up with Shinobu along with Miyuki. After all, he was the only person who could get Shirou to behave.

While Lindy was giving a brief summary about what the TSAB does and their current situation, the two boys continued to glare menacingly at each other. What started as distrust between the two had quite quickly elevated into aggression. It was as if both boys expected the other to attack when given the opportunity.

"We would like for you to set up a team to evacuate the civilians and let us move freely within this area while we finish collecting the Jewel Seed. It would be best to work together while such an enormous threat hangs over our head after all," the TSAB admiral concluded.

The four adults kept a passive look on their face as they listened to the woman talked. Both Alexander and Ai couldn't help but sigh inwardly. They had been delegated to supporting others in order to protect their town over the month or so. It was quite the blow to their pride.

Shirō and Kiritsugu, on the other hand, kept taking glances at the three children standing off to the side. The redhead had a frown on his face throughout the entire discussion while Nanoha and Yuuno kept fidgeting. While the Takamachi patriarch was smiling at the three's stubbornness to see the incident to the end, the Emiya was frowning. With the world in danger, Kiritsugu was more than willing to take orders from the TSAB. The boy still wanted to help out the girl with an unknown agenda, thinking that doing so will bring her some sort of salvation. The boy still doesn't understand the cold hard fact that not everyone can be saved it seemed.

"Well, we don't have any problem with your suggestion," Shirō spoke up first, causing Alexander and Ai to nod. "However, why don't we ask what the party closely involved to this incident have to say first?"

The three children suddenly stopped what they were doing to look at the ex-bodyguard in surprise before they turn to each other. "Well," Yuuno started hesitantly, "I want to see this case to the end even if I can't help out actively like I did before."

"You are welcome stay on the Arthra until the case is solved," Lindy offered with a smile. She then turned her attention to the other two. "And what about you two?"

Shirou locked eyes with the admiral for a moment before he gave a reluctant sigh. "I too wish to see this entire fiasco to the end. We did start collecting them in the first place and it wouldn't feel right to simply withdraw half way through."

"Is it possible for us to join you on the Arthra as well when something happens?" Nanoha added.

"You can visit any time you want," Lindy offered with a smile while Chrono frowned.

"Mot- I mean, Admiral, is that a good idea?" the young officer questioned while eyeing the redhead.

"It's fine, Chrono. I doubt they will cause too much problem."

The boy would've continued to argue with his superior/mother, but one harsh glare from the woman stopped him. Instead, he resigned with a 'Yes, ma'am' before turning his attention away.

* * *

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Chrono asked once again. The two officers of the TSAB had returned to the spaceship after finishing their negotiation with the local mages and were current lounging around the bridge.

Lindy sighed at her son's constant questioning of her decision before turning to him. "Chrono, they are not a danger to the mission, even if their decision may not agree with ours." Turning to her son, she continued, "I understand why you are so antagonistic toward young Shirou, but it has to stop. Besides, I believe both the young man and his cute little girlfriend could be quite a great asset in solving this case."

Brushing the amused tone of his mother when she referred to Nanoha as Shirou's girlfriend, Chrono raised a brow at her statement. "And how have you come to that conclusion, ma'am?" the boy asked in curiosity.

"For one, he had established a friendly rapport to our known target, so she might be more willing to give us the information we need on who is truly behind this," the admiral said before she sigh. "He also has one of the Jewel Seed inside his body. While I do not like using someone, much less a child of his age, as bait, the boy will lure out the mastermind behind that girl sooner or later. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but it is always a possibility. At least we know he has the ability to protect himself."

"But wouldn't that seal we've given him interfere with his spell casting?"

Lindy let out a hum before turning to her son. "It might be a problem for him now, but I doubt it will inconvenience him for long. He seemed to adapt to whatever situation he is presented to quite easily. At least that's what my intuition is telling me."

The dark-haired officer decided to withhold any further questions after that. His mother's intuition had always been quite accurate after all. If he didn't know any better, he would've said his mother has some form of clairvoyance.

* * *

Shirou sighed in exhaustion as he slumped against the bench he was sitting on. The boy was completely drained mentally after the conversation he had with Kiritsugu the night before. He had told the Magus Hunter what he had experienced within the Reality Marble, leaving out some facts like when he told the Takamachi patriarch. He did, however, let slip that the next Holy Grail War was supposed to take place in five more years or so.

Next to the redhead were Nanoha and their two friends, Alisa and Suzuka. The girls had been talking nonstop about the event that took place on the previous night. The two girls had been pestering the duo about the alien police officers whenever they were alone. Well, to be honest, it was more like Alisa pestering them while Suzuka stood off to the side staring at them in curiosity.

"Only you would help a criminal escape from a law enforcer," Alisa huffed out in annoyance.

"You don't need to keep reminding me," the redhead grumbled unhappily as he closed his eyes. Ignoring the constant jabbering of his three friends, the incarnation of sword started channeling prana through his circuits once again. After receiving the seal from Lindy, he had found it impossible to utilize any of his Magecraft. Every time he starts the process of channeling his od, the seal seems to absorb the mystic energy. As far as he knew, the energy absorbed seems to linger within the square-shaped device.

Shirou's circuits flared to life once more as prana coursed through them. Once again, he sensed his channeled magical energy flowed away from his intended location and into the seal.

"Baka-Shirou! Stop daydreaming when someone is talking to you!" Alisa scolded, giving the lone boy of the group a flick to his head and breaking him out of his concentration.

Shirou frowned at the girl's action as he rubbed the red mark on his forehead. "I was trying to figure out how this seal works," he whispered out. While he was initially surprised that his two friends were quite intertwined with the magical part of the world, it didn't take him long to incorporate the duo into their conversation relating to the mystic arts. "I know it locked up my 'Linker Core'. What I don't get is why it keeps absorbing all of my mana."

"You mean prana, right?" Alisa interrupted.

"Yea, that," the boy said. After spending so much time with Yuuno, he had started employing the terms used by the ferret boy. "When I try to use Gradation Air or Self Reinforcement, all prana simply moves toward the damnable thing, and as far as I can tell, merely keeps it in there," Shirou finished with a frustrated grunt.

"Maybe it's using your prana as a power source to keep the seal activated?" Suzuka suggested.

Shirou shook his head. "No. If that is the case, they could've made the seal drain the excess prana from my overloaded Linker Core to power the thing."

The Linker Core, according to what the adults had told him, was quite different from the Circuits. Instead of residing within a magus's soul, the Core is more like an actual organ. It can be damaged and healed and even increase its capacity naturally unlike the Magic Circuits utilized by the magi of Earth. However, while everyone with a Linker Core has Magical Circuits, it is not true vice versa.

The redhead scratched his head in frustration before getting off the bench with a sigh. "Well, no use dwelling on this I guess. I'll just have to do more testing after school to try and understand this chunk of metal," he stated before walking back toward the school building.

Behind Shirou, Alisa couldn't help but whisper, "Are you sure Baka-Shirou is as strong as you said he was?"

"Shirou-kun was very strong," Nanoha answered while she nodded enthusiastically. "He could make-"

"-a sword out of thin air, shoot it like an missile, and make it blow up in a huge ball of fire," Alisa continued with a roll of her eyes. "You've told us enough times already, Nanoha. I still can't believe that idiot created an Excalibur with Gradation Air. Is that even possible?"

"Well, Shirou-kun isn't really normal…" the quietest girl of the group finally spoke up. Seeing her two friends turned toward her, she decided to continue to explain. "It might have been the fact that I have some demon blood in me, but Shirou-kun doesn't feel 'normal'. I had always felt something weird when we are with him, but when we met up with him again at Midori-ya, the feeling seemed to have intensified."

"This might explain why he has such weird ideals," Alisa said offhandedly. "Well, it doesn't matter how powerful he is anyway. He's still the same idiot no matter what."

"That's right. Shirou-kun will always be Shirou-kun," Nanoha stated with a giggle along with Suzuka.

With the end of that conversation, the trio quickly followed after the redhead.

* * *

"It's been a while, Shirou-han."

After school ended and the redhead walked his three friends to cram school, Shirou decided to meet up with Hayate. "Yea, sorry for not meeting up with you. I kind of got hospitalized," he said sheepishly.

"Oh my! Are you sure you're okay? There's no need to force yourself out of bed just to meet up with me. You should take care of your body more."

Shirou merely smiled at the worrying girl. "It's fine. The doctor said I can move around as I wish already. Besides, I need to get some groceries too." Not wanting the crippled girl to start voicing her worries again, the redhead got behind her and started pushing her wheelchair toward the supermarket they often visit. "So how have you been lately? Are your legs healing?"

"Shirou-han, what's bothering you?"

The question stopped the redhead in his track. "What do you mean?"

"Shirou-han, you're never good at hiding your emotions," Hayate answered while placing a hand on Shirou's. "You know I'm always willing to listen to your problems no matter what."

The redhead blinked in surprise at the gesture before he sighed in defeat. He never could say no to Hayate, especially when she has that worried look on her face. A wry smile appeared on his face as he said, "Alright, I'll tell you. Remember that thing I told you I was doing with Nanoha that got me hurt a while back? Well, since I was hospitalized…"

* * *

Shirou smiled to himself as he made his way home with two arms full of groceries. After venting his pent-up frustration from the night before to the crippled girl once more, he had felt a lot better. "Hayate should try becoming a psychologist when she grows up," the boy mumbled with a wry smile. "Just do what I believe is right, huh?"

Shirou gave a short chuckle at that advice. For a moment, he wondered what his Kansai friend would think if she knew he was trying to help out a police suspect.

Opening the door to his home, he was met with Kiritsugu waiting for him. "Shirou, let's continue our talk from last night."

The redhead let out a groan at his adoptive father's insistence; the previous good mood he had was all but gone. "Can this wait until after dinner?"

The older man merely gave a grunt as a reply before vacating the hallway, leaving the young redhead standing there with two heavy bags filled with foodstuff. "He could have at least helped me out a little…"

* * *

Arf looked upon her master in sadness once more as she tended to Fate's wounds. It had been a day since the girl was knocked unconscious. With another sigh, the canine familiar set to change the bandages on her master once more.

She was surprised when she found her master slowly opening her eyes while she was working on healing the bruises the blonde had received from the TSAB officer. "Fate! You're awake!" the familiar cried out as she practically pounced on the black-dressed girl in relief.

After shedding a few tears of happiness, the dog girl locked eyes with Fate with a frown marring her face. "Fate, we should really stop this. With the Bureau getting involved, there is nothing we can do anymore."

The blonde gave a grunt before answering. "We… will be… fine…"

"No! We barely got away from that boy this time, and it was due to that redhead's interference! Just look at you! You're complete battered! If they find this place now…" Arf trailed off ominously before shaking away the thought. "Besides, why are you even doing this; just because that evil bitch tells you to? Even if she is your mother, she had done nothing other than hurt you! She could've given you some support, but instead, she whipped you before sending you back on your mission forcefully! Please, just stop helping that cra-"

"Arf… please stop badmouthing mother…"

"No! You need to stop defending her! I'm worried about you, master. You who took care of me after I was abandoned by my pack, gave me a home, and granted me the honor of being your familiar. You're the most important person in my life. I can't stand seeing you sad or hurt…" The canine girl stopped on her rant when she felt a hand on her head.

"I'm sorry, Arf," the soft voice of Fate reached her ears. "I know what you said is true, but I still wish to fulfill her dreams." Using whatever strength she had to stand up, the fragile looking girl offered her familiar another pat on her head. "It isn't safe to stay in one place for too long. Besides, we should start scouting out the next Jewel Seed."

Arf could feel her heart breaking at the sight of her master stumbling toward the exit.

* * *

The next ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Shirou had continued trying to solve the problem behind his seal by feeding it more and more prana each day while Yuuno and Nanoha went out to help the TSAB officials secure the Jewel Seed. In the end, Nanoha managed to secure four more while Fate gained three more Jewel Seeds.

While the members of the TSAB continued worrying over the fact that Fate had captured the three Lost Logia and escaped being followed, Shirou was unfazed. He had actually started formulating a plan to get the Jewel Seeds Fate had gathered. He was about to approach the older Harlaown about the plan when the emergency alarm sounded.

Shriou frowned at that. Making his way to the bridge, he met up with his two partners as well as Kiritsugu. "So what is the plan?" the boy asked as he observed the holographic screens showing the blonde.

"We will leave her to her own devices. If she keeps this up, she will simply kill herself," Chrono stated as he kept his back to the redhead. "If by some miracle she survives, we will hit her while she is out of power."

The redhead clenched his jaw in anger at the blatant disregard for the girl's life. His frustration rocketed when he saw the girl getting knocked out of the air by a water pillar after she tried cleaving it with Bardiche in Scythe Form.

"We have to go down and help her now! Nanoha cried out in panic.

"This is for the best," Kiritsugu replied coldly.

Lindy nodded in agreement. "Yes. It may seem cruel, but it is the best option."

While everyone was distracted by what was going on down on Earth, Shirou's prana was oscillating wildly. The seal that was flashing in red was hidden from everyone under the boy's sleeve.

_**[**__**Euer Gnaden]**_

"Wha…" Shirou paused as he sensed the tendril reaching out to his mind before looking down at his wrist. "D-did you just talked?"

_**[Ja, Euer Gnaden]**_

The redhead looked up in time to see Nanoha locking eyes with Yuuno before he gave a quick tap on the other boy's shoulder. _"I'm guessing Nanoha's going down there against orders?"_ Receiving a nod from the archaeologist, Shirou continued, _"And I guess you're going to hold them at bay here?"_

"_Yes," _Yuuno replied firmly.

The redhead smirked at the burning determination of his male friend. _"I'm going down too."_

"_What?" _the blond boy cried out in surprise at the declaration. _"But you said your magic is not acting correctly! Besides, you don't know how to fly!"_

Shirou's smirk widened before he took a look at his wrist.

A sound similar to a hammer striking an anvil echoed in Yuuno's head before he snapped his eyes toward Shirou. _"Is that-"_

"_Yes," _the redhead answered before he heard the question. _"I have no idea how, but I do believe that thing is a Device."_

Yuuno raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his friend before he shook off the questions bouncing in his head. _"Are you going to be fine? You don't know what that thing is capable of after all."_

"_Best time to try it out then,"_ was the reply Shirou gave.

Yuuno palmed his face before sighing in defeat. _"Fine. Promise me you will not die out there. I don't want the fact that I have a hand in your death somehow."_

"_We're wasting precious time here!" _the voice of Nanoha stopped any further banter between the two boys before they nodded at each other.

"_On the count of three, you two make your way toward the gate behind us."_

"_Roger!"_

"_Understood. Oh, and Yuuno, if you are going to keep everyone at bay, bind Kiritsugu-oji-san up before you erect a barrier around you both. Even if he might not be able to use the spells you do, he is still a master at breaking down barriers. Tie him up as tightly as possible too and keep his guns out of his reach."_

The three exchanged a nod before they readied themselves. By the time any of the crew members noticed the gate's activation, both Nanoha and Shirou already took a step into the platform.

"What are you- never mind. Stop them!" Chrono cried out as he leveled his staff and shot off a blue bolt. The ball of energy zoomed toward the three children but was stopped by a broadsword nearly as tall as the gate's doorway suddenly coming down on it.

Reacting quickly, Yuuno launched as many chains as he could summoned at Kiritsugu, leaving him with no room to dodge before tying the man up and reeling the man in. A green barrier immediately erected around the four, halting any advances the TSAB officers may take.

"I will explain my actions when we return. For now, please trust in our decision," The redhead was able to state before Yuuno finished up the teleportation spell.

"None shall pass as long as I can still stand," The young archaeologist declared as the barrier around the gateway doubled.

* * *

Falling from the sky was definitely a very refreshing new experience for Shirou. Feeling the wind brushing against him as he continued to plummet was a thrill he believe he will always appreciate if given the chance. Unfortunately, it is not the time to enjoy the adrenaline coursing through him.

"So any advice on how to activate the Device and make a Barrier Jacket?" Shirou cried out as the two continued their descend.

"You activate your Device with a password and you just picture the strongest armor you could think of! The Device should do the rest!"

Shirou nodded before locking eyes with his friend. "Ready, Nanoha?!"

"Ready!"

Holding out their respective Devices, the two help out their talking magical items.

_**[Kodewort]**_

"Raising Heart, set up! / Blutrot Hüter, turn up!"

Everything slowed down around Shirou the square piece of the watch-like Device separated into four panels and started stretching out until it formed a very familiar black bow.

The school uniform on the boy was almost instantly replaced by a black armor and matching long leggings. Pieces of metal seemed to form in midair as the boy watched black fabric coiled their way around his feet before forming a pair of boots. The metal pieces then fit around the toes, heels and ankles areas before being fastened by two metallic screws and bolts each.

A metallic ring around his waist appeared next before a piece of red cloth flared out of it. Another piece of metal was secured on his back before another red cloth appeared out of it, wrapping around the boy's upper body like a short jacket before it reached its way down his arms.

What was truly surprising was the sudden change in his hair color. It turned completely white. The boy grabbed the fully formed black bow with his left hand, gave it a twirl between his fingers and gave it a quick draw and release.

Shirou blinked in surprise when his transformation finished before looking over to Nanoha. "Is it just me or did that instantaneous transformation seems to drag on for quite a while?"

"Yea, I got the same feeling whenever I activate my Barrier Jacket as well," the girl answered with a shrug. "Now come on! Fate-chan needs our help!"

It didn't take long for the duo to find the blonde. Unfortunately, Arf had apparently taken their arrival the wrong way and charged at them with hostility.

Seeing Shirou flying down at marc speed toward her master probably didn't make the situation any better, especially with his sudden change in hair color, but the boy didn't have time to think about that. Before the two could collide, the currently white-haired boy shifted slightly to the right, barely dodging the orange missile and continued his path toward Fate.

The blonde, seeing the unknown red-and-black-clad boy approaching her with a roar and forming a sword in his hand, readied Bardiche for a shield spell and preparing for the worst the boy has to offer. Thus it was understandable that the girl was surprised when he changed his flight course and zoomed passed her head, clashing his sword into the spinning pillar of water coming down on her.

"Ittō Ryōzan!"

The pillar was suddenly cleaved in half down the middle before collapsing back down to the sea.

"Wha- How? Why?" Fate stuttered out after a moment as she looked at the boy with wide eyes.

Shirou merely smiled as he gestured toward the blade he held. "This is a sword once wielded by a god of storm for a reason. Cutting a waterspout like this with it shouldn't be too difficult," he explained. "As for why, I'm just here to help save a friend from a hazardous situation."

Seeing another pillar of water coming down on them, Shirou held out his right hand. "Enkidu!" A magic circle appeared before him, shooting off a single chain with a golden spiked tip. "Bind! Multiply!"

**[Binden. Duplikat]**

The single chain started glowing red and gold before splitting off into many different directions, tying up the waterspouts and holding them in place.

"That's right!" Nanoha exclaimed. "We're here to help out!"

Turning toward the white-clad girl, Shirou and fate saw Arf still locking her fist against Nanoha's staff.

"Arf, that's enough."

Hearing her master's voice, the familiar pushed off Nanoha before flying back to the blonde. "Fate, he didn't hurt you, did he?" the worried familiar asked while shooting Shirou a few sharp glances.

"No, Shirou saved me from being hit by another pillar of water," the blonde explained with a light blush on her face, which, on her porcelain skin, was quite easily noticed. The action caused Arf to look at her master in surprise before she got a better look at the snowy-haired boy, making her nod in understanding almost immediately.

"Ano, why don't we hold any unrelated conversation for later and take care of this before it gets any worse?" Nanoha suddenly spoke up next to the group. There was a frown that flashed on her face, which was missed by Shirou. Arf, on the other hand, had a small mischievous smile started tugging at the corner of her lip. Shaking off the slight ill intent, Nanoha pointed Raising Heart at Fate. "Here, Fate-chan. You look like you could use a bit more power."

**[Divide Energy]**

Pink tendrils shot out of the ruby sphere before entering Fate. In an instant, the girl could feel her mana reserve filling up once more.

Once the energy transfer was finished, Nanoha gave her rival a smile. "There. I've split my energy down the middle with you. It should be enough to let us finish sealing all the activated Jewel Seeds. We better hurry too."

"Yes, the Jewel Seeds are starting to get out of control. If they are not sealed soon, the city will be caught up in this disaster," Fate concurred. Turning to Shirou, she asked, "How much longer can you hold that bonding spell?"

"A minute at most. A few are already starting to slip from my control, so you better start charging up those beams of yours this instant!" the incarnation of sword cried out as another pillar of water slipped out of his chain. Thankfully, Arf was there to hold down the ones that slipped away from his grasp.

The blonde gave Shirou a nod before she turned her attention toward the storm. The two girls leveled their weapons at the ongoing storm before charging up their most powerful spell.

"Thunder Rage!" Fate cried out and released her lightning spell at the water vortexes, forcing them to move closer to each other.

Seeing the distance between each waterspout had decreased enough, Nanoha unleashed her buildup mana beam. "Divine Buster!"

In an instant, the storm was completely blown away. Even the chains holding down the pillars of water were vaporized. The only thing left were the seven Jewel Seeds floating before the group.

Shirou sighed in relief as he and the girls looked up at the parting clouds. "I hope we don't have to go through with that again."

"Well, these are the last of the Jewel Seeds, so I don't think we will need to worry about disasters of this level for quite some time," Nanoha said with a shrug, which drew a chuckle out of the boy and a wry smile from Fate.

That was when an enormous bolt of purple lightning struck the area.


End file.
